THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT 

From  the  Library  of 

Henry  Goldman,  Ph.D. 

1886-1972 


THE  GREEN   HAND 


FAMOUS  NOVELS   OF  THE   SEA 


THE   GREEN   HAND 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  NAVAL  LIEUTENANT 


BY 

GEORGE  CUPPLES 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

GEORGE  GIBBS 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1902 


COPYRIGHT  1899, 
BY  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Stack 
Annex 

PR, 


PREFACE 

THE  popularity  of  The  Green  Hand,  both  among  seamen 
and  others,  as  being  true  to  life,  has  been  wide.  It  has,  how 
ever,  been  thought  desirable  to  issue  a  revised  edition,  freed 
from  various  expressions  now  to  a  certain  extent  obsolete  or 
otherwise  unsuitable. 

Some  considerable  time  has  now  elapsed  since  the  period  to 
which  these  adventures  refer,  not  without  producing  a  good 
deal  of  alteration  in  much  that  goes  on  at  sea,  most  especially 
in  the  outward  accessories  of  nautical  life.  The  spanking 
frigate  of  former  days,  for  instance,  is  now  no  more  ;  her  place 
being,  to  the  eye  at  any  rate,  ill  taken  up  by  the  ironclad 
screw-steamer.  The  mechanical  appliances  have  been  im- 
proved, particularly  in  the  merchant  service,  as,  for  example, 
by  the  Patent-Reefing-Topsail,  which  is  only  one  of  the 
countless  new  helps  to  the  seaman.  In  navigation,  instead 
of  now  taking  five,  six,  or  seven  months  to  reach  Australia 
from  this  country,  the  captain  of  any  clipper-line  sailing  ship 
would  be  ashamed  of  himself  if  he  did  not  do  it  within  three. 
Not  to  multiply  cases,  Jack  himself  has,  as  a  rule,  added  the 
moustache  to  his  exuberance  of  whisker;  he  thinks  better 
than  he  used  to  do  of  these  excellent  institutions,  the  Sailors' 
Homes;  he  is  frequently  a  temperance  man,  and  has  even 
been  known  to  take  the  chair  at  a  meeting  for  vindication  of 
sailors'  rights. 

But  the  state  of  the  case,  from  a  plain  practical  point  of 
view,  is  pretty  well  illustrated  by  an  anecdote  current  at  sea 
among  forecastle  story-tellers.  According  to  them,  a  singu- 
lar discovery  was  made,  some  forty  years  or  so  back,  in 
Portsmouth  harbor,  aboard  no  less  conspicuous  a  craft  than 
that  immortal  three-decker  hulk,  H.  M.  S.  "Victory"  herself, 


PREFACE 

when  some  alterations  were  being  made  down  in  her  lower 
decks.  There  certain  of  the  dockyard  people,  having  occasion 
to  lift  a  small  out-of-the-way  lazarette  hatch,  down  on  the 
after-part  of  the  orlop,  which  had  been  long  covered  with 
old  coils  of  hawsers  or  the  like,  were  surprised  to  find  a  man 
lying  beneath,  who  rubbed  his  eyes,  stretched  himself  as  if 
waking  out  of  sleep,  and  was  finally  brought  up  on  deck. 
From  undoubted  evidence  it  turned  out  that  he  had  been  shut 
down  in  joke,  under  the  effect  of  some  strange  potion,  his 
rough  messmates  having  of  course  intended  to  release  him 
before  long;  but  a  sudden  commotion  of  a  more  important 
nature  had  arisen,  owing  to  which  they  had  forgotten  him 
until  too  late,  being  themselves  appointed  on  active  service 
abroad.  Hence  it  occurred  that  he  had  been  left  there,  fast 
enclosed  and  asleep,  ever  since  shortly  after  Trafalgar,  when 
the  "Victory"  had  come  home  with  Nelson's  body,  and  been 
paid  off,  dismantled,  and  moored  in  her  place  as  a  hulk. 
From  a  young  reefer,  this  gentleman  had  meanwhile  grown 
into  a  grizzled  oldster,  on  midshipman's  half-pay,  not  likely 
to  have  his  services  further  required,  seeing  that  the  French 
had  long  ceased  to  offer  battle  afloat.  He  was  however  freely 
invited  into  professional  society,  where  his  opinions  on  the 
changes  that  had  taken  place  were  naturally  much  looked  to. 
The  things  he  is  said  to  have  principally  remarked  as  new, 
were  that  pigtails  had  gone  out  of  fashion,  the  midshipmen's 
messes  were  supplied  with  silver  forks,  boatswains — in  stimu- 
lating the  men  at  work — put  more  force  into  their  language, 
less  into  their  rattans,  and  that  the  leading-blocks  of  the 
mizzen-topsail-reef-tackles  hung  at  the  slings  of  the  yard  in- 
stead of  being  as  formerly  at  the  rim  of  the  round-top;  nor 
did  he  ever  feel  sure  that  such  changes  were  for  the  better. 
This  yarn,  with  a  good  moral  tacked  on  at  the  end,  in  one 
form  or  another,  still  affords  entertainment  to  many  a  tarry 
audience  in  ships  outward  bound,  at  second  dog-watch  time, 
when  rolling  down  the  Trades;  particularly  if  spun  by  some 
fluent  ex-man-o'-war's-rnan  from  any  of  her  Majesty's  iron- 
clads. The  said  moral  generally  being  to  the  effect,  that  little 

vi 


PREFACE 

difference  is  made  in  essentials  at  sea  by  progress  in  the  mere 
shoregoing  world. 

In  the  following  story  no  great  amount  of  correction  re- 
quires to  be  made  in  bringing  it  up  to  date;  and,  except  in  a 
few  minor  points,  I  have  left  this  to  be  done  by  each  reader 
for  himself,  supposing  the  case  that  he  should  ever  find  reason 
in  his  own  professional  experience.  The  terms  larboard  and 
starboard  are  both  left  in  use  throughout  the  book,  although 
the  former  has  long  been  replaced  by  the  word  port — which, 
in  my  time,  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  helm,  when  the  re- 
semblance of  sound  would  always  have  been  dangerous  at  a 
sudden  emergency.  The  cry  "All  lar-bowlins  ahoy !"  no  longer 
is  added  to  the  summons  that  rouses  the  sleepy  watch  below. 
But  after  everything  is  said,  the  main  realities  of  sea-life 
continue  to  be  what  they  were.  There  is  constant  truth  in 
those  grand  words  known  to  us  all: 

Thy  shores  are  empires,  changed  in  all  save  Thee — 

*  #  *  # 

Unchangeable,  save  to  thy  wild  waves'  play, 
Time  writes  no  wrinkle  on  thine  azure  brow. 

The  strangeness  of  foreign  sights  and  tropical  wonders  has 
not  altered;  nor  the  thrill  of  excitement  amid  tempest;  wind 
and  weather  are  noway  different;  the  sailor  feels  as  much 
pride  as  ever  in  his  ship's  good  qualities;  the  occasion  of 
danger  still  brings  out  his  manhood ;  hearts-of-oak  will  always 
be  ready  to  man  our  floating  bulwarks  so  long  as  Britain 
remains. 

If  it  were  only  in  order  to  express  a  hearty  belief  in  this, 
I  am  glad  to  have  had  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  few 
words  prefixed  to  a  fresh  edition  of  The  Green  Hand.  And 
to  all  young  readers  who  must  ere  long  embark  upon  the 
troubled  sea  of  life,  success  and  a  good  voyage  to  you  is  the 
cordial  wish  of  your  sincere  friend, 

THE  AUTHOR 

Edinburgh,  August  31, 1878. 


vii 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACK 

I  SAT  UNEASY,  LIKE  A  SMALL  PAWN  THAT  HAD  BEEN  TRYING 

TO  GET  TO  THE  HEAD  OP  THE  BOARD,          .        .      Frontispiece. 

THE  SECONDS  GAVE  THE  WORD  TO  EACH  OTHER,  AND  DROPPED 

Two  WHITE  HANDKERCHIEFS  AT  ONCE,     ....      60 

NEXT  MINUTE  THE  FIRE  OUT  OF  ONE  OF  HER  BOW-CHASERS 

FLASHED  OUT  BEHIND  THE  BLUE  BACK  OF  A  SWELL,  .  246 

THE  FRENCHMAN'S  RED  CAP  AND  His  DARK,  FIERCE  FACE 

GLARED  ON  ME  BY  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  LANTERN,  .  .  300 


ix 


THE  GREEN  HAND 


CHAPTER    I. 

"CoME,  old  ship,  give  us  a  yarn!"  said  the  younger  fore- 
castle-men to  an  old  one,  on  board  of  an  Indiaman  then 
swiftly  cleaving  the  waves  of  the  western  Atlantic  before  the 
trade-wind,  and  outward-bound,  with  a  hearty  crew  and  a 
number  of  passengers.  It  was  the  second  of  the  two  dog- 
watches; and,  the  ship  being  still  in  the  region  of  evening 
twilights,  her  men,  in  a  good  humor  and  with  leisure,  were 
then  usually  disposed,  as  on  this  occasion,  to  make  fast  their 
roaming  thoughts  by  help  of  a  good  yarn,  when  it  could  be 
got.  There  were  plenty  of  individuals,  amongst  a  crew  of 
forty,  calculated  by  their  experience,  or  else  by  their  flow  of 
spirits  and  fancy,  to  spin  it.  Each  watch  into  which  they 
were  divided  had  its  especial  story-teller,  with  whose  merits 
it  twitted  the  other,  and  on  opportunity  of  a  general  reunion, 
they  were  pitted  against  one  another  like  two  fighting-cocks. 
The  one  was  a  grave,  solemn,  old  North-Sea  whaler  with  one 
eye,  who  professed  to  look  down  with  contempt  upon  all  raw 
head-work,  on  navigation  compared  with  seamanship,  and 
fiction  against  fact.  As  for  himself,  he  rested  all  his  fame 
upon  actual  experience,  and  told  long  dry  narratives  of  old 
shipmates,  of  his  voyages  and  adventures,  and  sometimes  of 
the  most  incredible  incidents,  with  a  genuine  briny  gusto 
which  pleased  the  veteran  stagers  beyond  expression.  They 
were  full  of  points  of  seamanship — expedients  for  nice  emer- 
gencies, tacks,  knots,  and  splices;  he  gave  the  very  conversa- 
tion of  his  characters,  with  all  the  "says  he"  and  "says  I"; 
and  one  long  recital  of  the  old  fellow's  turned  upon  the  ques- 
tion between  himself  and  a  new-fangled  second-mate  about 
the  right  way  to  set  up  back-stays,  in  which  he,  the  sailor, 
was  proved  correct  by  the  loss  of  the  ship.  The  other  story- 
teller, again,  was  a  Wapping  man;  a  lively,  impudent  young 
cockney,  who  had  the  most  miraculous  faculty  of  telling  lies 
— not  only  palpable  lies,  but  lies  absolutely  impossible;  yet 
they  were  so  sublimely  told  often,  and  he  contrived  to  lug  into 
them  such  a  quantity  of  gorgeous  tinsel  ornament,  as,  in  his 
happier  efforts,  decidedly  to  carry  the  day  against  his  oppo- 

1 


2  THE  GREEN  HAND 

nent.  The  London  hand  had  seen  life,  too,  of  which,  with 
respect  to  what  is  called  the  world,  his  competitor  was  as 
ignorant  as  a  child.  He  had  his  sentimental  vein,  accordingly, 
in  which  he  took  the  last  love-tale  out  of  some  "Penny  Story- 
Teller"  or  fashionable  novel  he  had  spelled  over  below,  and 
made  of  it  a  parody  that  would  have  thrown  its  unfortunate 
author  into  convulsions  of  horror,  and  his  critics  into  shrieks 
of  laughter.  The  fine  language  of  lords  and  ladies,  of  romantic 
heroines,  or  of  foreign  counts  and  bandits,  was  gravely  re- 
tailed and  gravely  listened  to  by  a  throng  of  admiring  jack- 
tars;  while  the  old  whaler  smoked  his  pipe  sulkily  apart, 
gave  now  and  then  a  scornful  glance  out  of  his  weather-eye, 
and  called  it  "all  high-die'  and  soger's  gammon." 

On  this  occasion,  however,  the  group  for'ard  did  not  solicit 
the  services  of  either  candidate,  as  they  happened  to  have 
present  among  them  a  shipmate  who,  by  general  confession, 
"took  the  shine"  out  of  both,  although  it  was  rarely  they  could 
get  hold  of  him.  "Old  Jack,"  the  captain's  private  steward, 
was  the  oldest  seaman  on  board,  and  having  known  the  cap- 
tain when  the  latter  went  to  sea,  had  sailed  with  him  almost 
ever  since  he  commanded  t.  ship,  as  well  as  lived  in  his  house 
on  shore.  He  did  not  now  keep  his  watch,  nor  take  his  "trick 
at  the  helm,"  except  when  he  chose,  and  was  altogether  a  priv- 
ileged sort  of  person,  or  one  of  "the  idlers."  His  name  was 
Jacobs,  which  afforded  a  pretext  for  calling  him  "Old  Jack," 
with  the  sailor's  fondness  for  that  Christian  cognomen,  which 
it  is  difficult  to  account  for,  unless  because  Jonah  and  St. 
John  were  seafaring  characters,  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
holy  clerk  St.  Nicholas  was  baptized  "Davy  Jones,"  with  sun- 
dry other  reasons  good  at  sea.  But  Old  Jack  was,  at  any  rate, 
the  best  hand  for  a  yarn  in  the  "Gloucester"  Indiaman,  and 
had  been  once  or  twice  called  upon  to  spin  one  to  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  in  the  cuddy.  It  was  partly  because  of  his 
inexhaustible  fund  of  good-humor,  and  partly  from  that  love 
of  the  sea  which  looked  out  through  all  that  the  old  tar  had 
seen  and  undergone,  and  which  made  him  still  follow  the 
bowsprit,  although  able  to  live  comfortably  ashore.  In  his 
blue  jacket,  his  white  canvas  trousers  edged  with  blue,  and 
glazed  hat,  coming  forward  to  the  galley  to  light  his  pipe, 
after  serving  the  captain's  tea  of  an  evening,  Old  Jack  looked 
out  over  the  bulwarks,  sniffed  the  sharp  sea-air,  and  stood 
with  his  shirt-sleeve  fluttering  as  he  put  his  finger  in  his  pipe, 
the  very  embodiment  of  the  scene — the  model  of  a  prime  old 
salt  who  had  ceased  to  "rough  it,"  but  could  do  so  yet  if 
needful. 


A  SEA  STORY  3 

"Come,  old  ship!"  said  the  man  near  the  windlass,  as  soon 
as  Old  Jack  came  forward,  "give  us  a  yarn,  will  ye  ?"  "Yarn !" 
said  Jack,  smiling — "what  yarn,  mates?  'Tis  a  fine  night, 
though,  for  that  same — the  clouds  flies  high,  and  she  's  balling 
off  a  good  ten  knots  sin'  eight  bells."  "That  she  is,  bo' — so 
give  us  a  yarn  now,  like  a  reg'lar  old  A  1,  as  you  are !"  said 
one.  "  'Vast  there,  mate,"  said  a  man-o'-war's-man,  winking 
to  the  rest — "you  're  always  a-cargo-puddling,  Bill !  D  'ye 
think  Old  Jack  answers  to  any  other  hail  nor  the  Queen's? 
I  say,  old  three-decker  in  or'nary,  we  all  wants  one  o'  your 
close-laid  yarns  this  good  night.  Whaling  Jim  here  rubs  his 
down  with  a  thought  overmuch  o'  the  tar,  an'  young  Joe  dips 
'em  in  yallow  varnish — so  if  you  says  nay,  why,  we'll  all  save 
our  grog,  and  get  slewed  as  soon  as  may  be."  "Well,  well, 
mates,"  said  Jack,  endeavoring  to  conceal  his  flattered  feel- 
ings, "what 's  it  to  be,  though  ?"  "Let 's  see,"  said  the  man-o'- 
war's-man — "ay,  give  us  the  Green  Hand!"  "Ay,  ay,  the 
Green  Hand!"  exclaimed  one  and  all.  This  "Green  Hand" 
was  a  story  Old  Jack  had  already  related  several  times,  but 
always  with  such  amusing  variations,  that  it  seemed  on  each 
repetition  a  new  one — the  listeners  testifying  their  satis- 
faction by  growls  of  rough  laughter,  and  by  the  emphatic  way 
in  which,  during  a  pause,  they  squirted  their  tobacco  juice  on 
the  deck.  What  gave  additional  zest  to  this  particular  yarn, 
too,  was  the  fact  of  its  hero  being  no  less  than  the  captain 
himself,  who  was  at  this  moment  on  the  poop  quarter-deck  of 
the  ship,  pointing  out  something  to  a  group  of  ladies  by  the 
round-house — a  tall  good-looking  man  of  about  forty,  with 
all  the  mingled  gravity  and  frank  good-humor  of  a  sailor  in 
his  firm  weather-tinted  countenance.  To  have  the  power  of 
secretly  contrasting  his  present  position  and  manners  with 
those  delineated  by  Old  Jack's  episode  from  the  "skipper's" 
previous  biography,  was  the  acme  of  comic  delight  to  these 
rude  sons  of  Neptune,  and  the  narrator  just  hit  this  point. 

"Ye  see,"  began  he,  "  'tis  about  six-an'-twenty  year  gone 
since  I  was  an  able  seaman  before  the  mast,  in  a  small  Indy- 
man  they  called  the  'Chester  Castle,'  lying  at  that  time  behind 
the  Isle  of  Dogs  in  sight  of  Grennidge  Hospital.  She  was  full 
laden,  but  there  was  a  strong  breeze  blowing  up  that  wouldn't 
let  us  get  under  way;  and,  besides,  we  waited  for  the  most 
part  of  our  hands.  I  had  sailed  with  the  same  ship  two 
voyages  before;  so,  says  the  captain  to  me  one  day,  'Jacobs, 
there 's  a  lady  over  at  Greenwich  yonder  wants  to  send  her 
boy  to  sea  in  the  ship — for  a  sickening  I  s'pose.  I  'm  a-going 
up  to  town  myself,'  says  he,  'so  take  the  small  quarter-boat 


4  THE  GREEN  HAND 

and  two  of  the  boys,  and  go  ashore  with  this  letter,  and  see  the 
young  fool.  From  what  I  've  heard,'  says  the  skipper,  'he  's  a 
jackanapes  as  will  give  us  more  trouble  than  thanks.  How- 
ever, if  you  find  the  lady  's  bent  on  it,  why  she  may  send  him 
aboard  to-morrow  if  she  likes.  Only  we  don't  carry  no  young 
gentlemen,  and  if  he  slings  his  hammock  here,  you  must  lick 
him  into  shape.  I  '11  make  a  sailor  of  him,  or  else  a  cabin  boy.' 
'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  says  I,  shoving  the  letter  into  my  hat ;  so  in  half 
an  hour's  time  I  knocks  at  the  door  of  the  lady's  house,  rigged 
out  in  my  best,  and  hands  over  the  screed  to  a  fat  fellow  with 
red  breeches  and  yaller  swabs  on  his  shoulders,  like  a  captain 
of  marines,  that  looked  frightened  at  my  hail,  for  I  thou't 
he'd  been  deaf  by  the  long  spell  he  took  before  he  opened  the 
door.  In  five  minutes  I  hears  a  woman's  v'ice  ask  at  the 
footman  if  there  was  a  sailor  a-waiting  below.  'Yes,  marm,' 
says  he;  and  'Show  him  up,'  says  she.  Well,  I  gives  a  scrape 
with  my  larboard  foot,  and  a  tug  to  my  hair,  when  I  gets  to 
the  door  of  sich  a  fine  room  above  decks  as  ever  you  see,  all 
full  o'  tables,  an'  chairs,  an'  sofers,  an'  piangers,  an'  them  sort 
o'  highflying  consarns.  There  was  a  lady  all  in  silks  and 
satins  on  one  of  the  sofers,  dressed  out  like  a  widow,  with  a 
pretty  little  girl  as  was  playing  music  out  of  a  large  port- 
mankey — and  a  picter  of  a  man  upon  the  vvall,  which  I  at  once 
logged  it  down  for  his  as  she  'd  parted  company  from. 
'Sarvint,  ma'am,'  says  I.  'Come  in,  my  good  man/  says  the 
lady.  'You  're  a  sailor  ?'  says  she — asking,  like,  to  be  sure  if 
I  warn 't  the  cook's  mate  in  dish-guise,  I  fancy.  'Well,  marm,' 
I  raps  out,  'I  make  bould  to  say  as  I  hopes  I  am !' — an'  I 
catches  a  sight  o'  myself  in  a  big  looking-glass  behind  the 
lady,  as  large  as  our  sky-sail — and,  being  a  young  fellow  in 
them  days,  thinks  I,  'Blow  me,  if  Betsy  Brown  axed  me  that 
now,  I'd  up  an'  hax  her  if  she  war  a  woman!'  'Well,'  says 
she,  'Captain  Steel  tells  me,  in  this  here  letter,  he 's  a-going 
to  take  my  son.  Now,'  says  she,  'I  'm  sore  against  it — could  n't 
you  say  some  'at  to  turn  his  mind  ?'  'The  best  way  for  that, 
yer  ladyship,'  says  I,  'is  for  to  let  him  go,  if  it  was  only  the 
length  of  the  Nore.  The  sea '11  turn  his  stomich  for  him, 
marm,'  I  says,  'an'  then  we  can  send  him  home  by  the'pilot.' 
'He  wanted  for  to  go  into  the  navy,'  says  the  lady  again,  'but 
I  couldn't  think  on  that  for  a  moment,  on  account  of  this 
here  fearful  war ;  an',  after  all,  he  '11  be  safer  in  sailing  at  sea 
nor  in  the  army  or  navy — doesn't  you  think  so,  my  good 
man  ?'  'It 's  all  you  knows  about  it,'  thinks  I ;  hows'ever,  I 
said  there  wasn't  a  doubt  on  it.  *Is  Captain  Steel  a  rash 
man  ?'  says  she.  'How  so,  marm  ?'  says  I,  some'at  taken  aback. 


A  SEA  STORY  5 

'I  hope  he  does  not  sail  at  night,  or  in  storms,  like  too  many 
of  his  profession,  I  'm  af eard,'  says  she ;  'I  hope  he  always 
weighs  the  anchor  in  such  cases,  very  careful.'  Oh,  in  course/ 
says  I,  not  knowin',  for  the  life  of  me,  what  she  meant.  I 
did  n't  like  to  come  the  rig  over  the  poor  lady,  seein'  her  so 
anxious  like;  but  it  was  no  use, we  was  on  such  different  tacks, 
ye  see.  'Oh  yes,  marm,'  I  says,  'Captain  Steel  al'ays  reefs 
taups'ls  at  sight  of  a  squall  brewing  to  wind'rd;  and  then 
we  're  as  safe  as  a  church,  ye  know,  with  a  man  at  the  wheel 
as  knows  his  duty.'  'This  relieves  my  mind,'  the  lady  says, 
'wery  much;'  but  I  couldn't  think  why  she  kept  sniffing  all 
the  time  at  her  smelling-bottle,  as  she  wor  agoin'  to  faint. 
'Don't  take  it  to  heart  so,  yer  ladyship,'  I  says  at  last;  'I'll 
look  after  the  young  gentleman  till  he  finds  his  sea-legs.' 
'Thank  you,'  says  she;  'but  I  beg  your  parding,  would  ye  be 
kind  enough  for  to  open  the  winder,  and  look  out  if  you  see 
Edward  ?  I  think  he 's  in  the  garding. — I  feel  sich  a  smell 
of  pitch  and  tar !'  I  hears  her  say  to  the  girl !  and  says  she  tb 
me  again,  'Do  you  see  Edward  there? — give  a  call  to  him, 
please.'  Accordently,  I  could  ri't  miss  sight  of  three  or  four 
young  slips  alongside,  for  they  made  plenty  of  noise — one  of 
'em  on  top  of  a  water-barrel  smoking  a  sea-gar ;  another  sing- 
ing out  inside  of  it  for  mercy;  and  the  rest  roaring  round 
about  it,  like  so  many  Bedlamites.  'No  wonder  the  young 
scamp  wants  off  to  sea,'  thinks  I,  'he 's  got  nothin'  arthly  to 
do  but  mischief.'  'Which  be 's  the  young  gentleman,  marm  ?' 
says  I,  lookin'  back  into  the  room — 'is  it  him  with  the  sea-gar 
and  the  red  skull-cap?'  'Yes,'  says  the  lady — 'call  him  up, 
please.'  'Hallo !'  I  sings  out,  and  all  runs  off  but  him  on  the 
barrel,  and  'Hallo !'  says  he.  'You  're  wanted  on  deck  here, 
sir,'  I  says ;  and  in  five  minutes  in  comes  my  young  gemman, 
as  grave  as  you  please.  'Edward,'  says  his  mother,  'this  is  one 
of  Captain  Steel's  men.'  'Is  he  going  to  take  me?'  says  the 
young  fellow,  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets.  'Well,  sir,'  I 
says,  '  'tis  a  very  bad  lookout,  is  the  sea,  for  them  as  don't 
like  it.  You  '11  be  sorry  ten  times  over  you  've  left  sich  a 
berth  as  this  here,  afore  you  're  down  Channel.'  The  young 
chap  looks  me  all  over  from  clew  to  earing,  and  says  he,  'My 
mother  told  you  to  say  that !'  '  No,  sir,'  says  I,  'I  says  it  on 
my  own  hook.'  'Why  did  you  go  yourself,  then?'  sayc  he. 
'I  coula  n't  help  it,'  answers  I.  'Oh,'  says  the  impertinent 
little  beggar,  'but  you're  only  one  of  the  common  sailors, 
ain  't  you  ?'  'Split  me !'  thinks  I,  'if  I  doesn  't  show  you  the 
odds  betwixt  a  common  sailor,  as  ye  call  it,  and  a  lubber  of  a 
boy,  before  long!'  But  I  was  n't  goin'  to  let  him  take  the  jaw 


6  THE  GREEN  HAND 

out  o'  me,  so  I  only  laughed,  an'  says  I,  'Why,  I  'm  captain  of 
the  f oretop  at  sea,  anyhow.'  Where  's  your  hunif orm,  then  ?' 
says  the  boy,  lowering  his  tone  a  bit.  'Oh,'  I  says,  'we  doesn  't 
al'ays  wear  hunif  orm,  ye  know,  sir.  This  here's  what  we 
call  ondress.'  'I  'm  sorry,  sir,'  says  the  lady,  'I  did  n't  ax  you 
to  sit  down.'  'No  offence  at  all,  marm,'  I  says,  but  I  took  a 
couple  o'  glasses  of  brandy  as  was  brought  in.  I  saw  'twas  no 
use  goin'  against  the  young  chap;  so,  when  he  asked  what 
he  'd  have  to  do  aboard,  I  told  him  nothing  to  speak  of,  except 
count  the  sails  now  and  then,  look  over  the  bows  to  see  how 
the  ship  went,  and  go  aloft  with  a  spy-glass.  'Oh,'  says  his 
mother  at  this,  'I  hope  Captain  Steel  won 't  never  allow 
Edward  to  go  up  those  dangerous  ladders !  It  is  my  pertic'lar 
request  he  should  be  punished  if  he  does.'  'Sartinly,  marm, 
I  '11  mention  it  to  the  captain,'  I  says,  'an'  no  doubt  he  '11  give 
them  orders  as  you  speak  on.  The  captain  desired  me  to  say 
the  young  gentleman  could  come  aboard  as  soon  as  he  likes,' 
says  I  before  goin'  out  of  the  door.  'Very  well,  sir,'  says  the 
lady,  'I  shall  see  the  tailor  this  same  arternoon,  and  get  his 
clothes,  if  so  be  it  must.'  The  last  word  I  said  was,  I  puts  my 
head  half  in  again  to  tell  'em,  'There  was  no  use  gettin'  any 
huniforms  at  present,  seem'  the  ship's  sailmaker  could  do  all 
as  was  wanted  arterwards,  when  we  got  to  sea.' 

"Well,  two  or  three  days  after,  the  captain  sent  word  to  say 
the  ship  would  drop  down  with  the  morning  tide,  and  Master 
Collins  had  better  be  aboard  by  six  o'clock.  I  went  ashore 
with  the  boat,  but  the  young  gemman's  clothes  warn  't  ready 
yet ;  so  it  was  reg'lar  made  up  he  was  to  come  on  board  from 
Gravesend  the  day  after.  But  his  mother  and  an  old  lady,  a 
friend  of  theirs,  would  have  it  they  'd  go  and  see  his  bedroom, 
and  take  a  look  at  the  ship.  There  was  a  bit  of  a  breeze  with 
the  tide,  and  the  old  Indiamaii  bobbed  up  and  down  on  it 
in  the  cold  morning;  you  could  hear  the  wash  of  the  water 
a-poppling  onto  her  counter,  with  her  running-gear  blown  out 
in  a  bend ;  and  Missus  Collins  thought  they  'd  never  get  up 
the  dirty  black  sides  of  the  vessel,  as  she  called  'em.  The  other 
said  her  husband  had  been  a  captain,  an'  she  laid  claim  to  a 
snatch  of  knowledge.  'Sailor,'  says  she  to  me,  as  we  got 
under^the  quarter,  'that  there  tall  mast  is  the  main-bowsprit, 
ain't  it?  and  that  other  is  the  gallant  bowling  you  call  it, 
don 't  you  ?'  says  she.  'No  doubt,  marm/  says  T,  winking 
to  the  boys  not  to  laugh.  'It 's  all  right,'  I  says.  Howsoever, 
as  to  the  bedroom,  the  captain  showed  'em  over  the  cabin,  and 
put  'ern  off  by  saying  the  ship  was  so  out  of  order  he  could  n't 
say  which  rooms  was  to  be  which  yet,  though  they  need  n't 


A  SEA  STORY  7 

fear  Master  Ned  would  get  all  comfortable ;  so  ashore  the  poor 
woman  went,  pretty  well  pleased,  considerin'  her  heart  was 
against  the  whole  consarn. 

"Well,  the  next  afternoon,  lying  off  Gravesend,  out  comes  a 
wherry  with  young  master.  One  of  the  men  said  there  was  a 
midshipman  in  it.  'Midshipman  be  blowed!'  says  I;  'did  ye 
ever  see  a  reefer  in  a  wherry,  or  sitting  anywheres  out  o'  the 
starn-sheets  ?  It's  neither  more  nor  less  nor  this  precious 
greenhorn  as  we  've  got.'  'Why  don  't  the  bo'sun  pipe  to  man 
side-ropes  for  him  ?'  says  t'other ;  'but,  my  eye,  Bob,'  says 
he  to  me,  'what  a  sight  of  traps  the  chap's  got  in  the  boat ! — 
'twill  be  enough  to  heel  the  "Chester  Castle"  to  the  side  he 
berths  upon,  on  an  even  keel.  Do  he  mean  to  have  the  cap- 
tain's cabin,  I  wonder !'  Up  the  sides  he  scrambles,  with  the 
help  of  a  side-ladder,  all  togged  out  to  the  nines  in  a  span-new 
blue  jacket  and  anchor  buttons,  a  cap  with  a  gould  band, 
and  white  ducks  made  to  fit — as  jemmy-jessamy  a  looking 
fellow  as  you  'd  see  of  a  cruise  along  London  parks —  with  the 
waterman  singing  out  alongside  to  send  down  a  tackle  for  the 
dunnage,  which  it  took  a  pair  of  purchase-blocks  to  hoist  them 
out  on  board.  'What 's  all  this  ?'  says  the  mate,  coming  f or'ard 
from  the  quarter-deck.  "Tis  the  young  gemman's  traps, 
sir,'  I  says.  Says  the  mate,  'D  'ye  think  we  've  got  spare 
room  to  stow  all  this  lumber?  Strike  it  down  into  the  fore- 
hold,  Jacobs — and  get  out  a  old  blue  shirt  or  two,  and  a 
Scotch  cap,  for  the  young  whelp  first,  if  he  wants  to  save  that 
smooth  toggery  of  his  for  his  mammy.  You  're  as  green  as 
cabbage,  I'm  feared,  my  lad!'  says  he.  By  this  time  the  boy 
was  struck  all  of  a  heap,  an'  did  n't  know  what  to  say 
when  he  saw  the  boat  pulling  for  shore,  except  he  wanted 
to  have  a  sight  of  his  bedroom.  'Jacobs,'  says  the  mate, 
laughing  like  an  old  bear,  'take  him  below,  and  show  him 
his  bedroom,  as  he  calls  it !'  So  down  we  went  to  the  half -deck, 
where  the  carpenter,  bo'sun,  and  three  or  four  of  the 
'prentices,  had  their  hammocks  slung.  There  I  leaves  him 
to  overhaul  his  big  donkey  of  a  chest,  which  his  mother  had 
stowed  it  with  clothes  enough  for  a  lord  ambassador,  but 
not  a  blessed  thing  fit  to  use — I  would  n't  'a  given  my  bit 
of  a  black  locker  for  the  whole  on  it,  ten  times  over.  There 
was  another  choke-full  of  gingerbread,  pots  o'  preserves, 
pickles,  and  bottles ;  and,  thinks  I,  'The  old  lady  did  n't 
know  what  shares  is  at  sea,  I  reckon.  'Twill  all  be  gone 
for  footing,  my  boy,  before  you  Ve  seen  blue  water,  or  I  'm 
a  Dutchman.' 

"In   a   short   time   he   was   up   anchor,   going   down   with 


8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  fast  breeze  for  the  Nore;  and  we  stood  out  to  sea  that 
night,  having  to  join  a  convoy  off  Spithead.  My  gen- 
tleman was  turned  in  all  standing,  on  top  o'  some  sails 
below;  and  next  day  he  was  as  sick  as  a  greenhorn  could 
be,  cleaning  out  his  land-ballast  where  he  lay,  nor  I  didn't 
see  him  till  he  'd  got  better.  'Twas  blowing  a  strong  breeze, 
with  light  canvas  all  in  aloft,  and  a  single  reef  in  the 
tops'ls;but  fine  enough  for  the  Channel,  except  the  rain — when 
what  does  I  see  but  the  'Green  Hand'  on  the  weather  quarter- 
deck, holding  on  by  the  belaying-pins,  with  a  yumbereller 
over  his  head.  The  men  for'ard  was  all  in  a  roar,  but  none 
of  the  officers  was  on  deck  save  the  third  mate.  The  mate 
goes  up  to  him,  and  looks  in  his  face.  'Why,'  says  he,  'you 
confounded  longshore,  picked-up  son  of  a  greengrocer,  what 
are  you  after?'  an'  he  takes  the  article  a  slap  with  his  lar- 
board-flipper, as  sent  it  flying  to  leeward  like  a  puff  of 
smoke.  'Keep  off  the  quarter-deck,  you  lubber,'  says  he, 
giving  him  a  wheel  down  into  the  lee-scuppers — 'it 's  well 
the  captain  didn't  catch  ye!  Come  aft  here,  some  of  ye,' 
sings  out  the  third  mate  again,  'to  brace  up  the  mainyard: 
and  you,  ye  lazy  beggar,  clap  on  this  moment  and  pull !' 
At  this  the  greenhorn  looks  round  doubtful  like,  then  at 
last  he  takes  out  a  pair  o'  double  gloves,  shoves  his  fingers 
into  'em,  and  tails  on  to  the  rope  behind.  'Well !'  says 
the  mate,  'if  I  ever  see  the  likes  o'  that!  Jacobs,  get  a 
tar-bucket  and  dip  his  fists  in  it;  larn  him  what  his  hands 
was  made  for!  I  never  could  a-bear  to  see  a  fellow  ashore 
with  his  flippers  shoed  like  his  feet;  but  at  sea,  confound 
me,  it  would  make  a  man  green-sick  over  again.'  If  you  'd 
only  seen  how  Master  Collins  looked  when  I  shoved  his  missy 
fingers  into  the  tar,  and  chucked  them  gloves  o'board!  The 
next  moment  he  ups  fist  and  made  a  slap  at  me,  when  in 
goes  the  brush  in  his  mouth;  the  mate  gives  him  a  kick 
astarn;  and  the  young  chap  went  sprawling  down  into  the 
half-deck  ladder,  where  the  carpenter  had  his  shavin'- 
glass  rigged  to  crop  his  chin — and  there  he  gets  another 
clip  across  the  jaws  from  Chips.  'Now,'  says  the  mate, 
'the  chap  '11  be  liker  a  sailor  to-morrow.  He  's  got  some  spunk 
in  him,  though,  by  the  way  he  let  drive  at  you,  my  lad,' 
says  he;  'that  fellow '11  either  catch  the  cat  or  spoil  the 
monkey.  Look  after  him,  Jacobs,  my  lad,'  says  the  third 
mate;  'he's  in  my  watch,  and  the  captain  wants  him  to 
rough  it  out;  so  show  him  the  ropes,  and  let  him  taste 
an  end  now  an'  then.  Ha,  ha,  ha!'  says  he  again,  laughing, 
*  't  is  the  first  time  I  ever  see  a  embrella  loosed  out  at  sea, 


A  SEA  STORY  9 

and  but  the  second  I  've  seen  brought  aboard  even.  He 's 
the  greenest  hand,  sure  enough,  it 's  been  my  luck  to  come 
across !  But  green  they  say 's  nigh  to  blue,  so  look  out 
if  I  don't  try  to  make  a  sailor  of  the  young  spark !' 

"Well,  for  the  next  three  or  four  days  the  poor  fellow 
was  knocked  about  on  all  hands ;  he  'd  got  to  go  aloft  to 
the  'gallant  cross-trees,  and  out  on  the  yard  foot-ropes 
the  next  morning,  before  breakfast;  and,  co-ming  down,  in 
course,  ye  know,  the  men  made  him  fast  till  he  sent  down 
the  key  of  his  bottle-chest  to  pay  his  footing.  If  he  closed 
his  eyes  a  moment  in  the  watch,  slash  comes  a  bucketful 
o'  Channel  water  over  him.  The  third  mate  would  keep 
him  two  hours  on  end,  larnin'  to  rig  out  a  sterns'l  boom, 
or  grease  a  royal  mast.  He  led  a  dog's  life  of  it,  likewise, 
in  the  half -deck;  bein'  last  come,  in  course  he  had  al'ays 
to  go  and  fill  the  bread-barge,  scrub  the  planks,  an'  do  all 
the  dirty  jobs.  Them  owners'  'prentices,  sich  as  he  had  for 
messmates,  is  always  worse  to  their  own  kind  by  far  nor 
the  'camming  sailors'  as  the  longshore  folks  call  a  foremast- 
man.  I  could  n't  help  takin'  pity  on  the  poor  lad,  bein' 
the  only  one  as  had  known  the  way  of  his  upbringing, 
and  I  feels  a  sort  of  a  charge  of  him  like;  so  one  night 
I  gets  a  quiet  spell  with  him  in  the  watch,  an'  as  soon 's 
I  fell  to  speak  kind-ways,  there  T  seed  the  water  stand  i' 
the  boy's  eyes.  'It's  a  good  thing,'  says  he,  tryin'  to 
gulp  it  down — 'it 's  a  goo — good  thing  mother  don't  see 
all  this!'  'Ho,  ho!'  says  I,  'my  lad,  'tis  all  but  another  way 
of  bein'  sea-sick !  You  does  n't  get  the  land  cleared  out, 
and  sniff  the  blue  breeze  nat'ral  like,  all  at  once !  Hovvs'ever, 
my  lad,'  says  I,  'take  my  advice — bring  your  hammock  an' 
chest  into  the  fok'sle;  swap  half  your  fine  clothes  for  blue 
shirts  and  canvas  trousers;  turn  to,  ready  and  willing,  an' 
do  all  that 's  asked  you — you  '11  soon  find  the  differings  be- 
twixt the  men  and  a  few  petty  officers  an'  'prentices  half 
out  their  time.  The  men  '11  soon  make  a  sailor  of  you ;  you  '11 
see  what  a  seaman  is ;  you  '11  larn  ten  times  the  knowledge ; 
an',  add  to  that,  you'll  not  be  browbeat  and  looked  jealous 
on!' 

"Well,  next  night,  what  does  he  do  but  f oilers  what  I 
said,  and  afore  long  most  of  his  troubles  was  naterally 
over ;  nor  there  was  n't  a  willin'er  nor  a  readier  hand  aboard, 
and  every  man  was  glad  to  put  Ned  through  anything  he  'd 
got  to  do.  The  mates  began  to  take  note  on  him ;  and  though 
the  'prentices  never  left  off  calling  him  the  Green  Hand, 
before  we  rounded  the  Cape  he  could  take  his  wheel  with 


io  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  best  of  them,  and  clear  away  a  sternsail  out  of  the 
top  in  handsome  style.  We  were  out  ten  months,  and  Ned 
Collins  stuck  to  the  fok'sle  throughout.  When  we  got 
up  the  Thames,  he  went  ashore  to  see  his  mother  in  a  check 
shirt,  and  canvas  trousers  made  out  of  an  old  royal,  with 
a  tarpaulin  hat  I  built  for  him  myself.  He  would  have 
me  to  come  the  next  day  over  to  the  house  for  to  have 
a  supper;  so,  havin'  took  a  kindness  to  the  young  chap, 
why,  I  couldn't  say  nay.  There  I  finds  him  in  the  midst 
of  a  lot  o'  soft-faced  slips  and  young  ladies,  a  spinning 
the  wonderfullest  yarns  about  the  sea  and  the  East  Ingees, 
makin'  'em  swallow  all  sorts  of  horse-marines'  nonsense, 
about  marmaids,  sea-sarpents,  an  sich  like.  'Hallo,  my 
hearty!'  says  he,  as  soon  as  he  saw  me,  'heave  a-head  here, 
and  bring  to  an  anchor  in  this  here  blessed  chair.  Young 
ladies,'  says  he,  'this  is  Bob  Jacobs,  as  I  told  you  kissed  a 
marmaid  hisself .  He  ?s  a  wonderful  hand,  is  Bob,  for  the 
fair  ones !'  You  may  fancy  how  flabbergasted  I  was  at  this, 
though  the  young  scamp  was  as  cool  as  you  please,  and 
wouldn't  ha'  needed  much  to  make  him  kiss  'em  all  round; 
but  I  was  al'ays  milk-an'-water  alongside  of  women,  if  they 
topped  at  all  above  my  rating.  'Well,'  thinks  I,  'my  lad,  I 
would  n't  ha'  said  five  minutes  agone,  there  was  anything 
of  the  green  about  ye  yet,  but  1  see  'twill  take  another 
voy'ge  to  wash  it  all  out.'  For  to  my  thinkin',  mates,  'tis 
more  of  a  landlubber  to  come  the  rig  over  a  few  poor 
creators  that  never  saw  blue  water,  than  not  to  know  the 
ropes  you  war  n't  told.  'Oh,  Mister  Jacobs !'  says  Missus 
Collins  to  me  that  night,  before  I  went  off,  'd'ye  think 
Edward  is  tired  of  that  'ere  horridsome  sea,  yet?'  'Well, 
marm,'  I  says,  'I  'm  af  eared  not.  But  I  '11  tell  ye,  marm,' 
says  I,  'if  you  wants  to  make  him  cut  the  consarn,  the 
only  thing  ye  can  do  is  to  get  him  bound  apprentice  to  it. 
From  what  I  've  seen  of  him,  he 's  a  lad  that  won't  bear  aught 
again  his  liberty ;  an'  I  do  believe,  if  he  thought  he  could  n't 
get  free,  he'd  run  the  next  day!'  Well,  after  that,  ye  see, 
I  didn't  know  what  more  turned  up  of  it;  for  I  went  round 
to  Hull,  myself,  and  ships  in  a  timber-craft  for  the  Baltic, 
just  to  see  some'at  new. 

"Now,  one  day,  the  third  voy'ge  from  that  time,  no  sooner 
does  we  get  up  to  Blackwall  than  we  hears  of  a  strong  press 
from  the  men-o'-war;  and  as  I'd  got  a  desperate  mislike  to 
the  sarvice,  there  was  a  lot  of  us  marchantmen  kept  stowed 
away  close  in  holes  an'  corners  till  we  could  suit  ourselves.  At 
last  we  got  well  tired,  and  a  shipmate  o'  mine  and  I 


A  SEA  STORY  n 

wanted  to  go  and  see  our  sweethearts  over  in  the  town.  So 
we  hired  the  slops  from  a  Jew,  and  makes  ourselves  out 
to  be  a  couple  o'  watermen,  with  badges  to  suit,  a-carrying  of 
a  large  parcile  and  a  ticket  on  it.  In  the  afternoon  we  came 
back  again  within  sight  of  the  Tower,  where  we  saw  the 
coast  was  clear,  and  makes  a  fair  wind  along  Rosemary  Lane 
and  Cable  Street.  Just  then  we  saw  a  tall  young  fellow, 
in  a  brown  coat,  an'  a  broad-brim  hat,  a-standing  in  the 
door  of  a  shop,  with  a  paper  under  his  arm,  on  the  lookout 
for  some  one.  'Twig  the  Quaker,  Bob!'  my  shipmate  says 
to  me.  As  soon  as  he  saw  us,  out  the  Quaker  steps,  and 
says  he  to  Bill,  in  a  sleepy  sort  of  a  v'ice,  'Friend,  thou'rt  a 
waterman,  I  b'lieve?'  'Yes/  says  Bill,  with  an  oath,  'that's 
what  we  hails  for.  D'ye  want  a  boat,  master?'  'Swear  not, 
friend,'  says  the  broad-brim;  'but  what  I  want  is  this, 
you  see.  We  have  a  large  vessel,  belonging  to  our  house, 
for  to  send  to  Havannah,  and  willin'  to  give  double 
wages,  but  we  can 't  find  any  marineers  at  this  present 
time  for  to  navigate.  Now,'  says  he,  'I  s'pose  this  onf ortunate 
state  o'  things  is  on  account  of  the  sinful  war  as  is  a-goin' 
on — they're  afraid  of  the  riskses.  Hows'ever,  my  friends,' 
says  he,  'perhaps,  as  you  knows  the  river,  thee  could  put 
us  upon  a  way  of  engagin'  twenty  or  more  bold  marineers, 
as  is  not  af eared  of  venturing  for  good  pay?'  and  with 
this  he  looks  into  his  papers;  and  says  Bill,  'Well,  sir,  I 
don't  know  any  myself — do  you,  Bob?'  and  he  gives  me  a 
shove,  and  says  under  the  rose,  'No  fear,  mate,'  says  Bill, 
'he 's  all  over  green — don't  slip  the  chance  for  all  hands 
of  us  at  Jobson's.'  'Why,  master,'  I  says,  'what  'ud  ye  give 
them  marineers  you  speaks  on,  now  ?'  'Four  pound  a  month, 
friend,'  says  he,  looking  up;  'but  we  gives  tea  in  place 
of  spirits,  and  we  must  have  steady  men.  We  can  't  wait, 
neither,'  says  he,  'more  nor  three  days,  or  the  vessel  won't 
sail  at  all.'  'My  eye !'  says  Bill,  '  'twon't  do  to  miss,  Bob ! — 
stick  to  him,  that 's  all.'  'Well,  sir,'  I  says,  'I  thinks  I  does 
have  a  notion  of  some'at  of  the  sort.  If  you  sends  your 
papers  to  Jobson's  Tavern  to-night,  second  lane  'twixt  Barna- 
by  Street  and  the  Blue  Anchor  Road,  over  the  water, 
why,  I  might  get  ye  as  many  hands  for  to  sign  as  you 
wants.'  'Thanks,  friend,'  says  the  young  broad-brim,  'I  will 
attend  to  thine  advice.'  So  he  bids  us  good-day,  and 
stepped  into  his  door  again.  'Bill,'  says  I,  as  we  went  off, 
'now  I  think  on  it,  I  can't  help  a  notion  I've  seen  that  chap's 
face  afore.'  'Very  like,'  says  Bill ;  'for  the  matter  o'  that, 
'tis  the  same  with  me — them  broad-brims  is  so  much  of 


12  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  piece.  But,  that  'ere  fellow  don't  know  nothin'  of  ships, 
sure  enough,  or  he  would  n't  offer  what  he  did,  and  the 
crimps'  houses  all  of  a  swarm  with  hands !' 

"  'Take  my  word,  mate,'  says  I,  'it 's  a  paying  trip,  or 
he  would  n't  do  it — leave  a  Quaker  alone  for  that.  Why, 
the  chap's  a  parfit  youngster,  but  I  am  blessed  if  he  don't 
look  as  starched  as  if  he  'd  sat  over  a  dask  for  twenty  year !' 

"Well,  strike  me  lucky,  mates  all,  if  the  whole  affair  war  n't 
a  complete  trap!  Down  comes  a  clerk  with  the  papers,  sure 
enough — but  in  ten  minutes  more  the  whole  blessed  lot  of 
us  was  puckalowed,  and  hard  an'  fast,  by  a  strong  press- 
gang.  They  put  us  into  a  cutter  off  Redriff  Stairs,  and  the 
next  noon  all  hands  was  aboard  of  the  'Pandora'  frigate  at 
Sheerness.  The  first  time  of  being  mustered  on  deck,  says 
Bill  to  me,  'Cuss  my  eyes,  Bob,  if  there  is  n't  the  'f  arnal 
Quaker!'  I  looked,  and  sees  a  midshipman  in  uniform 
like  the  rest,  and  so  it  was.  'The  sly,  soft-sawderin'  beg- 
gar!' says  I.  'All  fair  in  war,  and  a  press-mate!'  says  one  o' 
the  frigate's  men.  All  the  while  I  kept  looking  and  looking 
at  the  midshipman;  and  at  last  I  says  to  Bill  when  we  got 
below,  giving  a  slap  to  my  thigh,  'Blessed  if  it  ain't !  it 's 
the  Green  Hand  himself!'  'Green  Hand!'  says  Bill,  sulky 
enough,  'who's  the  Green  Hand?  Blow  me,  Bob,  if  I 
don't  think  we  're  the  green  hands  ourselves,  if  that 's 
what  you  're  upon !'  So  I  told  him  the  story  about  Ned 
Collins.  'Well,',  says  he,  'if  a  fellow  was  green  as  Chinee 
rice,  cuss  me  if  the  reefers'  mess  would  n't  take  it  all 
out  on  him  in  a  dozen  watches.  The  softest  thing  I  know, 
as  you  say,  Bob,  just  now,  it 's  to  come  the  smart  hand 
when  you're  a  lubber;  but  to  sham  green  after  that  style, 
ye  know,  why,  it  is  a  mark  or  two  above  either  you  or  I, 
messmate.  So,  for  my  part,  I  forgives  the  young  scamp, 
'cause  I  ought  to  ha'  known  better.' 

"By  the  time  the  frigate  got  to  sea  the  story  was  blowed 
over  the  whole  main-deck;  many  a  good  laugh  it  gived  the 
different  messes;  and  Bill,  the  midshipman,  and  me,  got  the 
name  of  the  'Three  Green  Hands.' 

"One  middle-watch  Mister  Ned  comes  for'ard  by  the  booms 
to  me,  and  says  he,  'Well,  Bob  .Jacobs,  you  don't  bear  a 
grudge,  I  hope?'  'Why,'  says  I,  'Mister  Collins,  'twould 
be  mutiny  now,  I  fancy,  you  being  my  officer.'  So  I  gave 
a  laugh;  but  I  couldn't  help  feelin'  hurt  a  little,  'twas  so 
like  a  son  turnin'  against  his  father,  as  'twere.  Why,  Bob,' 
says  he,  'did  ye  think  me  so  green  as  not  to  know  a  sea- 
man when  I-  saw  him  ?  I  was  af  eared  you  'd  know  me  that 


A  SEA  STORY  13 

time.'  'Not  I,  sir,'  I  answers;  'why,  if  we  hadn't  sailed 
so  long  in  company,  I  wouldn't  know  ye  now!'  So  Master 
Ned  gived  me  to  understand  it  was  all  for  old  times  he 
wanted  to  ship  me  in  the  same  craft;  but  he  knew  my 
misliking  to  the  sarvice,  though  he  said  he  'd  rather  ha' 
lost  the  whole  haul  of  'em  nor  myself.  So  many  a  yarn 
we  had  together  of  a  dark  night,  and  for  a  couple  of  years 
(  we  saw  no  small  sarvice  in  the  'Pandora.'  But  if  ye  'd  seen 
Ned,  the  smartest  reefer  aboard,  and  the  best  liked  by  the 
men,  in  the  fore-tops'l  bunt  in  a  gale,  or  over  the  main- 
deck  hatch,  with  an  enemy's  frigate  to  leeward,  or  on  a 
spree  ashore  at  Lisbon  or  Naples,  you  would  n't  ha'  said 
there  was  anything  green  in  his  eye,  I  warrant  ye!  He 
was  made  acting-lieutenant  of  a  prize  he  cut  out  near 
Chairboorg,  before  he  passed  examination;  so  he  took  me 
for  his  prize-bo'sun,  and  carried  her  into  Plymouth.  Soon 
after  that  the  war  was  ended,  and  all  hands  of  the  'Pandora' 
paid  off.  Master  Ned  got  passed  with  flying  colors,  and 
confirmed  lieutenant  besides,  but  he  had  to  wait  for  a  ship. 
He  made  me  say  where  I  'd  be  found,  and  we  parted 
company  for  about  a  year. 

"Well,  I  was  come  home  from  a  short  trip,  and  one  day 
Leftenant  Collins  hunts  me  up  at  Wapping  Docks,  where 
I  'd  had  myself  spliced,  six  years  before,  to  Betsy  Brown,  an' 
was  laid  up  for  a  spell,  having  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  sea. 
Ye  must  know  the  young  leftenant  was  fell  deep  in  love 
with  a  rich  Indy  naboob's  daughter,  which  had  come  over 
to  take  her  back  to  the  East  Ingees.  The  old  fellow  was 
hard  close-hauled  again'  the  match,  notwithstanding  of  the 
young  folks  makin'  it  all  up ;  so  he  'd  taken  out  berths 
aboard  of  a  large  company's  ship,  and  bought  over  the  cap- 
tain on  no  account  to  let  any  king's  navy  man  within  the 
gangways,  nor  not  a  shoulder  with  a  swab  upon  it,  red  or 
blue,  beyond  the  ship's  company.  But,  above  all,  the  old 
tyrant  would  n't  have  a  blue- jacket,  from,  stem  to  starn, 
if  so  be  he'd  got  nothing  ado  but  talk  sweet;  I  s'pose  he 
fancied  his  girl  was  mad  after  the  whole  blessed  cloth.  The 
leftenant  turns  over  this  here  log  to  me,  and,  says  he,  'I  '11 
follow  her  to  the  world's  end,  if  need  be,  Bob,  and  cheat 
the  old  villain!'  'Quite  right,  too,  sir,'  says  I.  'Bob/  says 
he,  'I  '11  tell  ye  what  I  wants  you  for  to  do.  Go  you  and 
enter  for  the  "Seringapatam"  at  Blackwall,  if  you  're  for 
sea  just  now;  I'm  goin'  for  to  s'cure  my  passage  myself, 
an'  no  doubt  doorin'  the  voy'ge  something  '11  turn  up  to 
set  all  square;  at  any  rate,  I'll  stand  by  for  a  rope  to 


14  THE  GREEN   HAND 

pull!'  'Why,  here's  a  rum  go!'  thinks  I  to  myself.  'Is 
Ned  Collins  got  so  green  again,  spite  of  all  that 's  come 
an'  gone,  for  to  think  the  waves  is  a-goin'  to  work  won- 
ders, or  ould  Neptune  under  the  line's  to  play  the  parson 
and  splice  all!'  'Well,  sir,'  I  says,  'but  don't  you  think 
the  skipper  will  smoke  your  weather-roll,  sir,  at  sea,  as  you 
did  Bill  Pikes  an'  me,  you  know,  sir?'  says  I.  'Oh,  Bob, 
my  lad,'  says  the  leftenant,  'leave  you  that  to  me.  The 
fellow  most  onlikest  to  a  sailor  on  the  Indyman's  poop 
will  be  me,  and  that 's  the  way  you  '11  know  me.' 

"Well,  ship  I  does  with  the  'Seringapatam'  for  Bombay — 
plenty  of  passengers  she  had;  but  only  clerks,  naboobs,  old 
half -pay  fellows,  and  ladies,  not  to  speak  o'  children  and 
nurses,  black  and  white.  She  sailed  without  my  seein' 
Leftenant  Collins,  so  I  thought  I  was  to  hear  no  more 
on  it.  When  the  passengers  began  to  muster  on  the  poop, 
by  the  time  we  got  out  o'  Channel,  I  takes  a  look  over  the 
ladies,  in  coilin'  up  the  ropes  aft,  or  at  the  wheel;  I  knowed 
the  said  girl  at  once  by  her  good  looks,  and  the  old  fellow 
by  his  grumpy,  yallow  frontispiece.  All  on  a  sudden  I 
takes  a  note  of  a  figger  coming  up  from  the  cuddy,  which 
I  made  out  at  once  for  my  Master  Ned,  spite  of  his  wig 
and  a  pair  o'  high-heeled  boots,  as  gave  him  the  walk  of 
a  chap  a-treading  amongst  eggs.  When  I  hears  him  lisp 
out  to  the  skipper  at  the  round-house  if  there  was  any  fear  of 
wind,  'twas  all  I  could  do  to  keep  the  juice  in  my  cheek. 
Away  he  goes  up  to  windward,  holding  on  by  everything, 
to  look  over  the  bulwarks  behind  his  sweetheart,  givin' 
me  a  glance  over  his  shoulder.  At  night  I  see  the  two 
hold  a  sort  of  collogue  abaft  the  wheel,  when  I  was  on  my 
trick  at  the  helm.  After  awhile  there  was  a  row-  got  up 
amongst  the  passengers,  with  the  old  naboob  and  the  skipper, 
to  find  out  who  it  was  that  kept  a-singing  every  still  night  in 
the  first  watch,  alongside  of  the  ladies'  cabin,  under  the 
poop.  It  could  n't  be  cleared  up,  hows'ever,  who  it  was.  All 
sorts  o'  places  they  said  it  corned  from — mizzen-chains, 
quarter-galleries,  lower-deck  ports,  and  davit-boats.  But 
what  put  the  old  hunks  most  in  a  rage  was,  the  songs  was 
every  one  on  'em  such  as  'Rule  Britannia,'  'Bay  of  Biscay,' 
'Britannia's  Bulwarks,'  and  'All  in  the  Downs.'  The  captain 
was  all  at  sea  about  it,  and  none  of  the  men  would  say 
anything,  for  by  all  accounts  'twas  the  best  pipe  at  a 
sea-song  as  was  to  be  heard.  For  my  part,  I  knowed  pretty 
well  what  was  afloat.  One  night  a  man  corned  for'ard 
from  the  wheel,  after  steering  his  dog-watch  out,  and 


A  SEA  STORY  15 

'Well,  I'm  blessed,  mates,'  says  he  on  the  fok'sle,  'but  that 
chap  aft  yonder  with  the  lady — he  's  about  the  greenest  hand 
I've  chanced  to  come  across.  What  d'ye  think  I  hears 
him  say  to  old  Yallow-chops  an  hour  agonef  'What  was 
it,  mate?'  I  says.  'Says  he,  "Do  ye  know,  Sar  Chawls,  is 
the  hoshun  reelly  green  at  the  line — green,  ye  know,  Sar 
Chawls,  reelly  green  ?"  "No,  sir,"  says  the  old  naboob,  "  't  is 
blue."  "Whoy,  ye  don't  sa — ay  so!"  says  the  young  chap, 
pullin'  a  long  face.'  'Why,  Jim,'  another  hand  drops  in,  'that's  . 
the  very  chap  as  sings  them  first-rate  sea-songs  of  a  night.  I 
seed  him  myself  come  out  o'  the  mizzen-chains !'  'Hallo !' 
says  another  at  this,  'then  there  's  some' at  queer  i'  the  wind ! 
I  thought  he  gave  rather  a  weather-look  aloft,  comin'  on  deck 
i'  the  morning.  I'll  bet  a  week's  grog  that  chap's  desarted 
from  the  king's  flag,  mates!'  Well,  ye  know,  hereupon  I 
could  n't  do  no  less  nor  shove  in  my  oar,  so  I  takes  word 
from  all  hands  not  to  blow  the  gaff,*  an'  then  gives  'em  the 
whole  yarn  to  the  very  day,  about  the  Green  Hand — for 
somehow  or  another  I  was  al'ays  a  yarning  sort  of  a  customer. 
As  soon  as  they  heard  it  was  a  love  consarn,  not  a  man 
but  swore  to  keep  a  stopper  on  his  jaw;  only,  at  findin' 
out  he  was  a  leftenant  in  the  Royal  Navy,  all  hands 
was  for  touching  hats  when  they  went  past. 

"Hows'ever,  things  went  on  till  we  'd  crossed  the  line 
a  good  while;  the  leftenant  was  making  his  way  with  the 
girl  at  every  chance.  But,  as  for  the  old  fellow,  I  did  n't 
see  he  was  a  fathom  the  nearer  with  him;  though,  as  the 
naboob  had  never  clapped  eyes  on  him  to  know  him  like, 
'twan't  much  matter  before  heaving  in  sight  o'  port.  The 
captain  of  the  Indyman  was  a  rum,  old-fashioned  codger, 
all  for  plain  sailing  and  old  ways — I  should  n't  say  over- 
much of  a  smart  seaman.  He  read  the  sarvice  every  Sunday, 
rigged  the  church  an'  all  that,  if  it  was  anything  short  of  a 
reef-taups'l  breeze.  'Twas  queer  enough,  ye  may  think,  to 
hear  the  old  boy  drawling  out,  'As  't  was  in  the  begin- 
ning— -'  then,  in  the  one  key,  'Haul  aft  the  mainsheet — 
'Is  now,  and  ever  shall  be —  -'  'Small  pull  with  the  weather 
brace —  -'  'Amen —  -'  'Well  the  mainyard —  -'  'The  Lord 
be  with  you —  -'  'Taups'l  yard  well !'  As  for  the  first  orficer, 
he  was  a  dandy,  know-nothing  young  blade,  as  wanted  to 
show  off  before  the  ladies;  and  the  second  was  afraid  to  call 
the  nose  on  his  face  his  own,  except  in  his  watch;  the  third 
was  a  good  seaman,  but  ye  may  well  fancy  the  craft  stood 
often  a  poor  chance  of  being  rightly  handled. 

*  Let  out  the  secret. 


16  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"  'Twas  one  arternoon  watch,  off  the  west  coast  of  Af ricay, 
as  hot  a  day  as  I  ever  mind  on,  we  lost  the  breeze  with  a 
swell,  and  just  as  it  got  dcwn  smooth,  land  was  made  out, 
low  upon  the  starboard  bow,  about  south-east-and-by-sou',  as 
near  as  may  be.  The  captain  was  turned  in  sick  below, 
and  the  first  orficer  on  deck.  I  was  at  the  wheel  myself, 
and  I  hears  him  say  to  the  second  as  how  the  land  breeze 
would  come  off  at  night.  A  little  after,  up  comes  Leftenant 
Collins,  in  his  black  wig  and  his  'longshore  hat,  an'  he  be- 
gins to  squint  over  the  starn  to  nor'west'ard.  'Jacobs,  my 
lad,'  whispers  he  to  me,  'how  do  ye  like  the  looks  o' 
things?'  'Not  overmuch,  sir,'  says  I;  'small  enough  sea- 
room,  leastways  for  a  sky  like  that  'ere.'  Up  goes  he 
to  the  first  officer,  after  a  bit.  'Sir,'  says  he,  'do  ye  notice 
how  we've  risen  the  land  within  the  last  hour  and  a  half?' 
''No,  sir,'  says  the  first  mate.  'What  d'ye  mean?'  'Why, 
there's  a  current  here,  takin'  us  inside  the  point,'  says  he. 
'Sir.'  says  the  Company's  man,  'if  I  didn't  know  what's 
what,  d'  ye  think  I  'd  larn  it  off  a  gentleman  as  is  so  con- 
founded green  ?  There's  nothing  of  the  sort,'  he  says.  'Look 
on  the  starboard  quarter,  then,'  says  the  leftenant,  'at  the 
man-o'-war  bird  afloat  yonder  with  its  wings  spread.  Take 
three  minutes'  look!'  says  he.  Well,  the  mate  did  take  a 
minute  or  two's  squint  through  the  mizzen-shroud,  and 
pretty  blue  he  got,  for  the  bird  came  abreast  of  the  ship 
by  that  time. 

"  'It 's  a  under-drif t,'  says  the  leftenant,  wonderful  know- 
ing-like— 'though  it 's  nothing  on  the  surf  age,  look  ye,  why, 
with  the  draught  the  ship  has  it 's  a-taking  her  along  like 
a  tide-way,  below !  Now,  d'  ye  think  you  'd  weather  that 
there  point  two  hours  after  this,  if  a  gale  come  on  from 
the  nor' -west,  sir?7  'Well,'  says  the  first  mate,  'I  dare 
say  we  should  n't — but  what  of  that  ?'  'Why,  if  you  'd  cruised 
for  six  months  off  the  coast  of  Africa,  as  I  've  done,'  says 
the  leftenant,  'you  'd  think  there  was  something  ticklish 
about  that  white  spot  in  the  sky,  to  nor' -west!  But  on  top 
o'  that,  the  weather-glass  is  fell  a  good  bit  since  four  bells.' 
'Weather-glass !'  the  mate  says,  'why,  that  don't  matter  much 
in  respect  of  a  gale,  I  fancy.'  Ye  must  understand,  weather- 
glasses wan't  come  so  much  in  fashion  at  that  time,  ex- 
cept in  the  Royal  Navy.  'Sir,'  says  the  mate  again,  'mind 
your  business,  if  you  've  got  any,  and  I  '11  mind  mine !'  'If 
I  was  you,'  the  leftenant  says,  'I  'd  call  the  captain.'  'Thank 
ye,'  says  the  mate — 'call  the  captain  for  nothing!'  Well,  in 
an  hour  more  the  land  was  quite  plain  on  the  starboard 


A  SEA  STORY  17 

bow,  and  the  mate  comes  aft  again  to  Leftenant  Collins. 
The  clouds  was  beginning  to  grow  out  of  the  clear  sky 
astarn,  too.  'Why,  sir,'  says  the  mate,  'I'd  no  notion  you 
was  a  seaman  at  all !  What  would  you  do  yourself  now,  sup- 
posin'  the  case  you  put  a  little  ago?'  'Well,  sir,'  says  Mr. 
Collins,  'if  you  '11  do  the  thing,  I  '11  put  ye  up  to  it  at 

onee ' » 

At  this  point  of  Old  Jack's  story,  however,  a  cabin- 
boy  came  from  aft,  to  say  that  the  captain  wanted  him. 
The  old  seaman  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe,  which 
he  had  smoked  at  intervals  in  short  puffs,  put  it  in  his 
jacket  pocket,  and  got  up  off  the  windlass  end.  "Why,  old 
ship !"  said  the  ,man-o'-war's-man,  "are  ye  goin'  to  leave 
us  in  the  lurch  with  a  short  yarn  again?"  "Can't  help  it, 
bo','  said  Old  Jack;  "orders  must  be  obeyed,  ye  know,"  and 
away  he  went.  "Well,  mates,"  said  one,  "if  the  yarn's 
been  overhauled  before,  what  was  the  upshot  of  it?  I 
did  n't  hear  it  myself."  "Blessed  if  I  know,"  said  several — 
"Old  Jack  did  n't  get  the  length  last  time  he 's  got  now." 
"More  luck!"  said  the  man-o'-war's-man ;  "'tis  to  be  hoped 
he'll  finish  it  next  time!" 


CHAPTER   II. 

WE  left  the  forecastle  group  of  the  "Gloucester"  disap- 
pointed by  the  abrupt  departure  of  their  story-teller,  Old 
Jack,  at  so  critical  a  thread  of  his  yarn.  As  old  Jacobs 
went  aft  on  the  quarter-deck,  where  the  binnacle-lamp  be- 
fore her  wheel  was  newly-lighted,  he  looked  in  with  a  sea- 
man's instinct  upon  the  compass-boxes,  to  see  how  the  ship 
headed ;  ere  ascending  to  the  poop,  he  bestowed  an  approv- 
ing nod  upon  his  friend  the  steersman,  hitched  up  his 
trousers,  wiped  his  mouth  with  the  back  of  his  hand  in 
a  proper  deference  to  female  society,  and  then  proceeded 
to  answer  the  captain's  summons.  The  passengers,  in  a 
body,  had  left  the  grand  cabin  to  the  bustling  steward  and 
his  boys,  previously  to  assembling  there  again  for  tea — 
not  even  excepting  the  little  coterie  of  inveterate  whist- 
players,  and  the  pairs  of  inseparable  chess-men,  to  whom 
an  Indian  voyage  is  so  appropriately  the  school  for  future 
nice  practice  in  etiquette,  war,  and  commerce.  Everybody 
had  at  last  got  rid  of  sea-sickness,  and  mustered  for  a 


i8  THE  GREEN   HAND 

promenade;  so  that  the  lofty  poop  of  the  Indiaman,  dusky 
as  it  was,  and  exposed  to  the  breeze,  fluttered  with  gay 
dresses  like  the  midway  battlement  of  a  castle  by  the 
waves,  upon  which  its  inmates  have  stolen  out  from  some 
hot  festivity.  But  the  long  heave  from  below,  raising  her 
stern-end  slowly  against  the  western  space  of  clear-obscure, 
in  the  manner  characteristic  of  a  sea  abaft  the  beam,  and 
rolling  her  to  either  hand,  exhibited  to  the  eyes  on  the 
forecastle  a  sort  of  alto  relievo  of  figures,  amongst  whom 
the  male,  in  their  blank  attempts  to  appear  nautical  be- 
fore the  ladies,  were  distinguished  from  every  other  ob- 
ject by  the  variety  of  ridiculous  postures.  Under  care  of 
one  or  two  bluff,  good-humored  young  mates — officers  pol- 
ished by  previous  opportunities  of  a  kind  unknown  either 
to  navy-men  or  mere  "cargo-fenders,"  along  with  several 
roguish  little  quasi-midshipmen — the  ladies  were  supported 
against  the  poop-rail,  or  seated  on  the  after-gratings,  where 
their  contented  dependence  not  only  saved  them  from  the 
ludicrous  failures  of  their  fellow-passengers,  but  gained 
them,  especially  the  young  ones,  the  credit  of  being  bet- 
ter sailors.  An  accompaniment  was  contributed  to  this 
lively  exercise  on  the  part  of  the  gentlemen  promenaders, 
which  otherwise,  in  the  glimmering  sea-twilight,  would  have 
been  striking  in  a  different  sense,  by  the  efforts,  namely,  of 
a  little  band  of  amateur  musicians  under  the  break  of 
the  poop,  who,  with  flute,  clarionet,  bugles,  trombone, 
and  violin,  after  sundry  practisings  by  stealth,  had  for 
the  first  time  assembled  to  play  "Rule  Britannia."  What, 
indeed,  with  the  occasional  abrupt  checks,  wild  nourishes, 
and  fantastic  variations  caused  by  the  ship's  roll;  and  what 
with  the  attitudes  overhead,  of  holding  on  refractory  hats 
and  caps,  of  intensely  resisting  and  staggering  legs,  or  of 
sudden  pausing  above  the  slope  which  one  moment  before 
was  an  ascent,  there  was  additional  force  in  the  designa- 
tion quaintly  given  to  such  an  aspect  of  things  by  the  fore- 
mast Jacks — that  of  a  "cuddy  jig."  As  the  still-increas- 
ing motion,  however,  shook  into  side-places  this  central  group 
of  cadets,  civilians,  and  planters  adrift,  the  grander  feat- 
ures of  the  scene  predominated:  the  broad  mass  of  the 
ship's  hull — looming  now  across  and  now  athwart  the  streak 
of  sinking  light  behind — drawn  out  by  the  weltering  out- 
line of  the  waters;  the  entire  length  of  her  white  decks  ever 
and  anon  exposed  to  view,  with  their  parallel  lines,  their 
nautical  appurtenances,  the  cluster  of  hardy  men  about 
the  windlass,  the  two  or  three  "old  salts"  rolling  to  and 


A  SEA  STORY  19 

fro  along  the  gangway,  and  the  variety  of  forms  blend- 
ing into  both  railings  of  the  poop.  High  out  of,  and  over 
all,  rose  the  lofty  upper  outline  of  the  noble  ship,  statelier  and 
statelier  as  the  dusk  closed  in  about  her — the  expanse  of  can- 
vas whitening  with  sharper  edge  upon  the  gloom ;  the  hauled- 
up  clews  of  the  main-course,  with  their  huge  blocks,  swell- 
ing and  lifting  to  the  fair  wind — and  the  breasts  of  the 
topsails  divided  by  their  tightened  buntlines,  like  the  shape 
of  some  full-bosomed  maiden,  on  which  the  reef-points 
heaved  like  silken  fringes,  as  if  three  sisters,  shadowy  and 
goddess-like,  trod  in  each  other's  steps  towards  the  deeper 
solitude  of  the  ocean;  while  the  tall  spars,  the  interlacing 
complicated  tracery,  and  the  dark  top-hamper  showing  be- 
tween, gave  graceful  unity  to  her  figure;  and  her  three 
white  trucks,  far  overhead,  kept  describing  a  small  clear 
arc  upon  the  deep  blue  zenith  as  she  rolled:  the  man  at 
the  wheel  midway  before  the  doors  of  the  poop-cabin,  with 
the  light  of  the  binnacle  upon  his  broad  throat  and  bearded 
chin,  was  looking  aloft  at  a  single  star  that  had  come 
out  beyond  the  clew  of  the  main-topsail. 

The  last  stroke  of  "six  bells,"  or  seven  o'clock,  which 
had  begun  to  be  struck  on  the  ship's  bell  when  Old  Jack 
broke  off  his  story,  still  lingered  on  the  ear  as  he  brought 
up  close  to  the  starboard  quarter-gallery,  where  a  little 
green  shed  or  pent-house  afforded  support  and  shelter  to  the 
ladies  with  the  captain.  The  erect  figure  of  the  latter, 
as  he  lightly  held  one  of  his  fair  guests  by  the  arm,  while 
pointing  out  to  her  some  object  astern,  still  retained  the 
attitude  which  had  last  caught  the  eyes  of  the  forecastle 
group.  The  musical  cadets  had  just  begun  to  pass  from 
"Rule  Britannia"  to  "Shades  of  Evening";  and  the  old 
sailor,  with  his  glazed  hat  in  his  hand,  stood  waiting 
respectfully  for  the  captain's  notice.  The  ladies,  however, 
were  gazing  intently  down  upon  the  vessel's  wake,  where 
the  vast  shapes  of  the  waves  now  sank  down  into  a  hollow, 
now  rose  seething  up  into  the  rudder-trunk,  but  all  marked 
throughout  with  one  broad  winding  track,  where  the  huge 
body  of  the  ship  had  swiftly  passed.  From  foaming  white- 
ness it  melted  into  yeasty  green,  that  became  in  the  hol- 
low a  path  of  soft  light,  where  the  sparks  mingled  like 
golden  seed;  the  wave-tops  glimmered  beyond;  star-like 
figures  floated  up  or  sank  in  their  long  undulations;  and 
the  broad  swell  that  heaped  itself  on  a  sudden  under 
the  mounting  stern  bore  its  bells,  and  bubbles,  and  flashes 
upwards  to  the  eye.  When  the  ship  rose  high  and  steady 


20  THE  GREEN   HAND 

upon  it,  and  one  saw  down  her  massy  taffrail,  it  looked 
to  a  terrestrial  eye  rather  like  some  mystic  current  issuing 
from  the  archway  under  a  tall  tower,  whose  foundations 
rocked  and  heaved;  and  so  said  the  romantic  girl  beside 
the  captain,  shuddering  at  the  vividness  of  an  image  which 
so  incongruously  brought  together  the  fathomless  deep  and 
the  distant  shores  cf  solid  old  England.  The  eye  of  the 
seaman,  however,  suggested  to  him  an  image  more  akin  to 
the  profession,  as  he  directed  his  fair  companion's  atten- 
tion to  the  trough  of  the  ship's  furrow,  where,  against  the 
last  low  gleam  of  twilight,  and  by  the  luminous  wake,  could 
be  seen  a  little  flock  of  black  petrels,  apparently  running 
along  it  to  catch  what  the  mighty  ploughshare  had  turned 
up;  while  a  gray  gull  or  two  hovered  aslant  over  them  in 
the  blue  haze.  As  he  looked  round,  too,  to  aloft,  he  ex- 
changed glances  with  the  old  sailor,  who  had  listened — 
an  expression  which  even  the  ladies  understood.  "Ah! 
Jacobs,"  said  the  captain,  "get  the  lamp  lighted  in  my  cabin, 
and  the  teakettle  aft.  With  the  roll  she  has  on  her,  'twill 
be  more  ship-shape  there  than  in  the  cuddy."  "Ay,  ay,  sir," 
said  the  old  seaman.  "Plow  does  she  head  just  now,  Jacobs?" 
"Sou'-west-and-by-south,  sir."  "She'd  lie  easier  for  the  ladies 
though,"  said  the  captain,  knowing  his  steward  was  a  fa- 
vorite with  them,  "were  the  wind  a  point  or  two  less  fair. 
Our  old  acquaintance,  Captain  Williamson,  of  the  'Seringa- 
patam'  now,  Jacobs,  old-fashioned  as  he  was,  would  have 
braced  in  his  lee-yard  only  to  steady  a  lady's  teacup." 
"Ay,  your  honor,"  replied  Jacobs,  and  his  weather  eye  twin- 
kled, "and  washed  the  fok'sle  under,  too!  But  ye  know,  sir, 
he  'd  got  a  reg'lar-built  naboob  aboard,  and  a  beauty  be- 
sides !"  "Ah,  Mr.  Jacobs !"  exclaimed  the  romantic  young 
lady,  "what  was  that?  Is  it  one  of  your  stories?"  "Well, 
your  ladyship,  'tis  a  bit  of  a  yarn,  no  doubt,  and  some'at 
of  a  cur'ous  one."  "Oh !"  said  another  of  the  captain's 
fair  protegees,  "I  do  love  these  'yarns,'  as  you  call  them; 
they  are  so  expressive,  so — and  all  that  sort  of  thing." 
"Nonsense,  my  love,"  said  her  mother;  "  you  don't  under- 
stand them,  and  'tis  better  you  should  not — they  are  low, 
and  contain  a  great  many  bad  words,  I  fear."  "But  think 
of  the  imaginative  feeling,  aunt,"  rejoined  the  other  girl, 
"and  the  adventures !  Oh.  the  ocean  of  all  places  for  that ! 
Were  it  not  for  sea-sickness,  I  should  dote  upon  it!  As 
for  the  storm  just  now,  look  how  safe  we  are,  and  see  how 
the  dear  old  ship  rises  up  from  the  billows,  with  all  her 
sails  so  delightfully  mysterious  one  over  another!"  "Bless 


A  SEA  STORY  21 

your  heart,  marm,  yes,"  responded  Old  Jack,  chuckling;  "you 
talks  just  like  a  seaman,  beggin'  your  pardon.  As,  con- 
sarns  the  tea,  sir,  I  make  bold  to  expect  the '11  be  a  shift 
o'  wind  directly,  and  a  slant  deck,  as  soon  as  we  get  fair 
into  the  stream,  rid  o'  this  bit  of  a  bubble  the  tail  of  it 
kicks  up  hereabouts."  "Bear  a  hand  then,  Jacobs,"  said 
t  the  captain,  "and  see  all  right  below  for  the  party  in 
the  cabin — we  shall  be  down  in  a  few  minutes."  The( 
captain  stood  up  on  the  quarter-gallery,  to  peer  round  into 
the  dusk  and  watch  the  lifting  of  the  main-royal;  but  the 
next  minute  he  called  to  the  ladies,  and  their  next  neigh- 
bors, to  look  towards  the  larboard  bow,  and  see  the  moon 
rise.  A  long  edge  of  gray  haze  lay  around  the  eastern 
horizon,  on  which  the  dark  rim  of  the  sea  was  defined 
beyond  the  roll  of  the  waves,  as  with  the  sweep  of  a  soft 
brush  dipped  in  indigo:  while  to  westward  it  heaved  up, 
weltering  in  its  own  watery  light  against  the  gloom.  From 
behind  this  low  fringe  of  vapor  was  silently  diffusing,  as 
it  were,  a  pool  of  faint  radiance,  like  a  brook  bubbling 
from  under  ice;  a  thread  of  silver  ran  along  the  line  of 
haze,  growing  keener  at  one  point,  until  the  arch  of  the 
moon  shot  slowly  up,  broad  and  fair:  the  wave-heads  rising 
between  were  crested  here  and  there  with  light;  the  bow 
of  the  ship,  the  bellies  of  her  fore-canvas,  her  bowsprit 
with  the  jibs  hanging  idly  over  it,  and  the  figurehead  be- 
neath, were  tinged  by  a  gentle  lustre,  while  the  hollow 
shadows  stole  out  behind.  The  distant  horizon,  mean- 
while, still  lay  in  an  obscure  streak,  which  blended  into  the 
dark  side  of  the  low  fog-bank,  so  as  to  give  sea  and  cloud 
united  the  momentary  appearance  of  one  of  those  long 
rollers  that  turn  over  on  a  beach,  with  their  glittering 
crest:  you  would  expect  to  see  next  instant  what  actually 
seemed  to  take  place — the  whole  outline  plashing  over  in 
foam,  and  spreading  itself  clearly  forward,  as  soon  as  the 
moon  was  free.  With  the  airy  space  that  flowed  from  her 
came  out  the  whole  eastern  seaboard  liquid  and  distinct, 
as  if  beyond  either  bow  of  the  lifting  Indiaman  one  sharp 
finger  of  a  pair  of  compasses  had  flashed  round,  drawing  a 
semi-circle  upon  the  dull  background,  still  cloudy,  glimmer- 
ing, and  obscure.  From  the  waves  that  undulated  towards 
her  stern,  the  ship  was  apparently  entering  upon  a  smoother 
zone,  where  the  small  surges  leaped  up  and  danced  in  moon- 
shine, resembling  more  the  current  of  some  estuary  in 
a  full  tide.  To  north-westward,  just  on  the  skirts  of  the 
dark,  one  wing  of  a  large,  soft-gray  vapor  was  newly  smit- 


22  THE  GREEN  HAND 

ten  by  the  moon-gleam;  and  over  against  it  on  the  south- 
east,, where  the  long  fog-bank  sank  away,  there  stretched 
an  expanse  of  ocean  which,  on  its  farthest  verge,  gave 
out  a  tint  of  the  most  delicate  opal  blue.  The  ship,  to  the 
south-westward  of  the  Azores,  and  going  large  before  the 
trade-wind,  was  now  passing  into  the  great  Gulf  Stream, 
which  there  runs  to  the  south-east;  even  the  passengers 
on  deck  were  sensible  of  the  rapid  transition  with  which 
the  lately  cold  breeze  became  warmer  and  fitful,  and  the 
motion  of  the  vessel  easier.  They  were  surprised,  on  looking 
into  the  waves  alongside,  to  perceive  them  struggling,  as 
it  were,  under  a  trailing  net -work  of  sea-weed;  which,  as 
far  as  one  could  distinctly  see,  appeared  to  keep  down 
the  masses  of  water  like  so  much  oil — flattening  their 
crests,  neutralizing  the  force  of  the  wind,  and  communi- 
cating a  strangely  sombre  green  to  the  heaving  element.  In 
the  winding  track  of  the  ship's  wake  the  eddies  now  abso- 
lutely blazed;  the  weeds  she  had  crushed  down  rose  to  the 
surface  again  in  gurgling  circles  of  flames,  and  the  showers 
of  sparks  came  up  seething  on  either  side  amongst  the 
stalks  and  leaves;  but  as  the  moonlight  grew  more  equally 
diffused,  it  was  evident  that  she  was  only  piercing  an  arm 
of  that  local  weed-bed  here  formed,  like  an  island,  in  the 
bight  of  the  stream.  Farther  ahead  were  scattered  patches 
and  bunches  of  the  true  Florida  Gulf-weed,  white  and  moss- 
like;  which,  shining  crisp  in  the  level  moonlight,  and  tip- 
ping the  surges  as  it  floated  past,  gave  them  the  aspect 
of  hoary-bearded  waves,  or  the  garlanded  horses  of  Nep- 
tune. The  sight  still  detained  the  captain's  party  on  deck, 
and  some  of  the  ladies  innocently  thought  these  phenomena 
indicative  of  the  proximity  of  land. 

"I  have  seldom  seen  the  Stream  so  distinct  hereabouts," 
said  Captain  Collins  to  his  first  officer,  who  stood  near,  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  watch.  "Nor  I,  sir,"  replied  the  chief 
mate;  "but  it  no  doubt  narrows  with  different  sea- 
sons. There  goes  a  flap  of  the  fore-topsail,  though!  The 
wind  fails,  sir."  "  'Tis  only  drawing  ahead,  I  think,"  said 
the  captain;  "the  stream  sucks  the  wind  with  its  heat,  and 
we  shall  have  it  pretty  near  from  due  nor'-west  immedi- 
ately." "Shall  we  round  in  on  the  starboard  hand,  then,  sir, 
and  keep  both  wind  and  current  aft?"  "I  think  not,  Mr. 
Wood,"  said  the  captain.  "  'Twould  give  us  a  good  three 
knots  more  every  hour  of  the  next  twenty-four,  sir,"  per- 
sisted the  officer  eagerly — and  chief  mates  generally  con- 
fine their  theories  to  mere  immediate  progress.  "Yes,"  re- 


A  SEA  STORY  23 

joined  the  captain,  "but  we  should  lose  hold  of  the  'trade' 
on  getting  out  of  the  stream  again.  I  intend  driving  her 
across,  with  the  nor'-wester  on  her  starboard  beam,  so 
as  to  lie  well  up  afterwards.  Get  the  yards  braced  to  lar- 
board as  you  catch  the  breeze,  Mr.  Wood,  and  make  her 
course  south-west  by  west."  "Very  well,  sir."  "Ladies," 
said  the  captain,  "will  you  allow  me  to  hand  you  below, 
where  I  fear  Jacobs  will  be  impatient  with  the  tea?" 

"What  a  pity,  Captain  Collins,"  remarked  the  romantic 
Miss  Alicia,  looking  up  as  they  descended  the  companion — 
"what  a  pity  that  you  cannot  have  that  delicious  moonlight 
to  shine  in  at  your  cabin  windows  just  now;  the  sailors  yonder 
have  it  all  to  themselves."  "There  is  no  favor  in  these 
things  at  sea,  Miss  Alicia,"  said  the  captain,  smiling.  "Jack 
shares  the  chance  there,  at  least,  with  his  betters;  but  I  can 
promise  those  who  honor  my  poor  suite  of  apartments  this 
evening  both  fine  moonshine  and  a  steadier  floor."  On 
reaching  the  snug  little  after-cabin,  with  its  swinging  lamp 
and  barometer,  its  side  "state-room,"  seven  feet  long,  and  its 
two  stern-windows  showing  a  dark  glimpse  of  the  rolling 
waters,  they  found  the  tea  things  set,  nautical  style,  on  the 
hard-a-weather,  boxed -up  table — the  surgeon  and.  one  or  two 
elderly  gentlemen  waiting,  and  old  Jacobs  still  trimming  up 
the  sperm-oil  lights.  Mrs.  St.  Clair,  presiding  in  virtue  of 
relationship  to  their  host,  was  still  cautiously  pouring  out  the 
requisite  half-cups,  when,  above  all  the  bustle  and  clatter  in 
the  cuddy,  could  be  heard  the  sounds  of  ropes  thrown  down  on 
deck,  of  the  trampling  watch,  and  the  stentorian  voice  of  the 
first  officer.  "Jacobs!"  said  the  captain,  a  minute  or  two 
afterwards;  and  that  worthy  factotum  instantly  appeared 
from  his  pantry  alongside  of  the  door — from  whence,  by-the- 
way,  the  old  seaman  might  be  privy  to  the  whole  conversation 
— "stand  by  to  dowse  the  lamp  when  she  heels,"  an  order 
purposely  mysterious  to  all  else  but  the  doctor.  Every  one 
soon  felt  a  change  in  the  movement  of  their  wave-borne  habi- 
tation ;  the  rolling  lift  of  her  stern  ceased ;  those  who  were 
looking  into  their  cups  saw  the  tea  apparently  take  a  decided 
inclination  to  larboard — as  the  facetious  doctor  observed,  a 
"tendency  to  port."  The  floor  gradually  sloped  down  to  the 
same  hand,  and  a  long,  wild,  gurgling  wash  was  suddenly 
heard  to  run  careering  past  the  timbers  of  the  starboard 
side. 

"Dear  me!"  fervently  exclaimed  every  lady  at  once;  when 
the  very  next  moment  the  lamps  went  out,  and  all  was  dark- 
ness. Captain  Collins  felt  a  little  hand  clutch  his  arm  in 


24  THE  GREEN   HAND 

nervous  terror,  but  the  fair  owner  of  it  said  nothing;  until, 
with  still  more  startling  effect  than  before,  in  a  few  seconds 
there  shot  through  both  stern  windows  the  full  rays  of  the 
moon,  pouring  their  radiance  into  the  cabin,  shining  on  the 
backs  of  the  books  in  the  hanging  shelves  by  the  bulkhead, 
on  the  faces  of  the  party,  and  the  bald  forehead  of  old  Jacobs 
"standing  by"  the  lamp — lastly,  too,  revealing  the  pretty 
little  Alicia  with  her  hand  on  the  captain's  arm,  and  her  pale, 
terrified  face.  "Don't  be  alarmed,  ladies !"  said  the  surgeon, 
"she's  only  hauled  on  the  starboard  tack!"  "And  her 
counter  to  the  east,''  said  the  captain. 

"But  who  put  out  the  lamp?"  rejoined  the  doctor.  "Ah, 
I  see,  sir ! — 'But  when  the  moon,  refulgent  lamp  of  night.'  " 
"Such  a  surprise!"  exclaimed  the  ladies,  laughing,  although 
as  much  frightened  for  a  moment  by  the  magical  illumination 
as  by  the  previous  circumstances.  "You  see,"  said  the  captain, 
"we  are  not  like  a  house — we  can  bring  round  our  scenery  to 
any  window  we  choose."  "Very  prettily  imagined  it  was,  too, 
I  declare!"  observed  a  stout  old  Bombay  officer,  "and  a  fine 
compliment  to  the  ladies,  by  jingo,  sir!"  "If  we  had  any  of 
your  pompous  Bengal  'Quy  hies'  here  though,  colonel,"  said 
the  doctor,  "they  would  n't  stand  being  choused  so  uncere- 
moniously out  of  the  weather  side,  I  suspect."  "As  to  the 
agreeable  little  surprise  I  meant  for  the  ladies,"  said  Captain 
Collins,  "I  fear  it  was  done  awkwardly,  never  having  com- 
manded an  Indiaman  before,  and  laid  up  ashore  these  half- 
a-dozen  years.  But  one's  old  feelings  get  freshened  up,  and 
without  knowing  the  old  'Gloucester's'  points,  I  can't  help 
reckoning  her  as  a  lady  too — a  very  particular  old  'Begum,' 
that  won't  let  anyone  else  be  humored  before  herself — 
especially  as  I  took  charge  of  her  to  oblige  a  friend."  "How 
easily  she  goes  now!"  said  the  doctor,  "and  a  gallant  sight 
at  this  moment,  I  assure  you,  to  anyone  who  chooses  to  put 
his  head  up  the  companion."  "Ah,  mamma !"  said  one  of  the 
girls,  "could  n't  you  almost  think  this  was  our  own  little  par- 
lor at  home  with  the  moonlight  coming  through  the  window 
on  both  sides  of  the  old  elm,  where  we  were  sitting  a  month 
ago  hearing  about  India  and  papa  ?" 

"Ah!"  responded  her  cousin,  standing  up,  "but  there  was 
no  track  of  moonshine  dancing  beyond  the  track  of  the  ship 
yonder !  How  blue  the  water  is,  and  how  much  warmer  it  has 
grown  of  a  sudden !" 

"We  are  crossing  the  great  Gulf  Stream,"  said  the  captain 
— "Jacobs !  open  one  of  the  stern-ports."  "  'Tis  the  very 
place  and  time,  this  is,"  remarked  a  good-humored  cotton- 


A  SEA  STORY  25 

grower  from  the  Deccan,  "for  one  of  the  colonel's  tiger-hunts, 
uow!"  "Sir!"  answered  the  old  officer,  rather  testily,  "I  am 
not  accustomed  to  thrust  my  tiger-hunts,  as  you  choose  to 
call  my  humble  experiences,  under  people's  noses !"  "Cer- 
tainly not,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  planter — "but  what  do  you 
say,  ladies,  to  one  of  the  captain's  sea-yarns,  then?  Nothing 
better,  I  'm  sure,  here  now,  sir — eh  ?"  Captain  Collins 
smiled,  and  said  he  had  never  spun  a  yarn  in  his  life,  ex- 
cept when  a  boy,  out  of  matter-of-fact  old  junk  and  tar. 
"Here  is  my  steward,  however,"  continued  he,  "who  is  the 
best  hand  at  it  I  know,  and  I  daresay  he  '11  give  you  one." 
"Charming!"  exclaimed  the  young  ladies;  and  "What  was 
that  adventure,  Mr.  Jacobs,"  said  Miss  Alicia,  "with  a  beauty 
and  a  nabob  in  it,  that  you  alluded  to  a  short  time  ago?" 
"I  did  n't  to  say  disactly  include  upon  it,  your  ladyship," 
replied  old  Jacobs,  with  a  tug  of  his  hair,  and  a  bow  not  just 
a  la  maitre;  "but  the  captain  can  give  you  it  better  nor  I 
can,  seeing  as  his  honor  were  the  Nero  on  it,  as  one  may 
say."  "Oh!"  said  the  surgeon,  rubbing  his  hands,  "a  lady 
and  a  rupee-eater  in  the  case!"  "There  seems  something 
curious  about  this  said  adventure  of  yours,  my  dear  captain," 
said  Mrs.  St.  Glair,  archly,  "and  a  beauty  too !  It  makes  me 
positively  inquisitive,  but  I  hope  your  own  fair  lady  has  heard 
the  story?"  "Why,  not  exactly,  ma'am,"  replied  Captain 
Collins,  laughing  as  he  caught  the  doctor  looking  preter- 
naturally  solemn,  after  a  sly  lee-wink  to  the  colonel,  who, 
having  his  back  to  the  moonlight,  stretched  out  his  legs  and 
indulged  in  a  grim,  silent  chuckle,  until  his  royal-tiger  coun- 
tenance was  unhappily  brought  so  far  flush*  in  the  rays  as  to 
betray  a  singular  daguerreotype,  resembling  one  of  those  cut- 
paper  phantasmagoria  thrown  on  a  drawing-room  wall,  un- 
mistakably black  and  white,  and  in  the  character  of  Malicious 
Watchfulness.  The  rubicund,  fidgety  little  cotton-grower 
twiddled  his  thumbs,  and  looked  modestly  down  on  the  deck, 
with  half -shut  eyes,  as  if  expecting  some  bold  revelation  of 
nautical  depravity;  while  the  romantic  Miss  Alicia  colored 
and  was  silent.  "However,"  said  the  captain,  coolly,  "it  is 
no  matrimonial  secret,  at  any  rate !  We  both  talk  of  it  some- 
times when  we  read  the  Church  Service  of  a  Sunday  night  at 
home,  with  Jacobs  for  the  clerk."  "Do,  Mr.  Jacobs,  oblige 
us !"  requested  the  younger  of  the  girls.  "Well,  miss,"  said 
he,  smoothing  down  his  hair  in  the  door-way,  and  hemming, 
"  'tant  neither  for  the  likes  o'  me  to  refuse  a  lady,  nor 
accordin'  to  rules  for  to  give  such  a  yarn  in  presence  of  a 

•Flush,  i.e.  level 


26  THE  GREEN   HAND 

supperior  officer,  much  less  the  captain;  with  a  midship 
helm,  ye  know,  marm,  ye  carn't  haul  upon  one  tack  nor  the 
other.  Not  to  say  but  next  forenoon  watch —  "I  see, 

Jacobs,  my  man,"  interrupted  Captain  Collins,  "there 's 
nothing  for  it  but  to  fore-reach  upon  you,  or  else  you  '11 
be  'Green-Handing'  me  aft  as  well  as  forward;  so  I  must 
just  make  the  best  of  it,  and  take  the  winch  in  my  own 
fashion  at  once !"  "Ay.  ay,  sir — ay,  ay,  your  honor !" 
said  Old  Jack  demurely,  and  concealing  his  gratification 
as  he  turned  off  into  the  pantry,  with  the  idea  of  for  the 
first  time  hearing  the  captain  relate  the  incidents  in  question. 
"My  old  shipmate,"  said  the  latter,  "is  so  fond  of  having 
trained  his  future  captain,  that  it  is  his  utmost  delight  to  spin 
out  everything  we  ever  met  with  together  into  one  endless 
yarn,  which  would  go  on  from  our  first  acquaintance  to  the 
present  day,  although  no  ship's  company  ever  heard  the  last 
of  it.  Without  falling  knowingly  to  leeward  of  the  truth,  he 
makes  out  every  lucky  coincidence  almost  to  have  been  a  feat 
of  mine,  and  puts  in  little  fancies  of  his  own,  so  as  to  give  the 
whole  thing  more  and  more  of  a  marvellous  air  the  farther  it 
goes.  The  most  amusing  thing  is,  that  he  almost  always 
begins  each  time,  I  believe,  at  the  very  beginning,  like  a  cap- 
stan without  a  pawl — sticking  in  one  thing  he  had  forgot 
before,  and  forgetting  another ;  sometimes  dwelling  longer  on 
one  part — a  good  deal  like  a  ship  making  the  same  voyages 
over  again.  I  knew,  now,  this  evening,  when  I  heard  the  men 
laughing,  and  saw  Old  Jack  on  the  forecastle,  what  must  be 
in  the  wind.  However,  we  have  shared  so  many  chances,  and 
I  respect  the  old  man  so  much,  not  to  speak  of  his  having 
dandled  my  little  girls  on  his  knee,  and  being  butler,  steward, 
and  flower  gardener  at  home,  that  I  can't  really  be  angry  at 
him,  in  spite  of  the  sort  of  every  man's  rope  he  makes  of  me !" 
"How  very  amusing  a  character  he  is!"  said  one  young  lady. 
"A  thought  too  tarry,  perhaps?"  suggested  the  surgeon. 
"So  very  original  and  like  a — a  seaman !"  remarked  Miss 
Alicia,  quietly,  but  as  if  some  other  word  that  crossed  her 
mind  had  been  rejected,  as  descriptive  of  a  different  variety, 
probably  higher.  "Original,  by  Jove !"  exclaimed  the  colonel ; 
"if  my  Khansa-man,  or  my  Al)dar} *  were  to  make  such  a  dan- 
cing dervish  and  tumasha-f  of  me  behind  back,  by  the  holy 
Vishnu,  sir,  I  'd  rattan  him  myself  within  an  inch  of  his 
life!"  "Not  an  unlikely  thing,  colonel,"  put  in  the  planter; 
"I  've  caught  the  scoundrels  at  that  trick  before  now."  "  What 
did  you  do  ?"  inquired  the  colonel,  speculatively.  "Could  n't 
help  laughing,  for  my  soul,  sir;  the  puclcree-bund%  rascals 

,    *  Steward  and  butler        t  Sport.       J  Turban-wearing. 


A  SEA  STORY  27 

did  it  so  well,  and  so  funnily!"  The  irascible  East-Indian 
almost  started  up  in  his  imaginative  fury,  to  call  for  his 
palkee,  and  chastise  his  whole  veranda,  when  the  doctor  re- 
minded him  that  it  was  a  long  way  there.  "Glorious  East!" 
exclaimed  the  medico,  looking  out  astern,  "where  we  may  cane 
our  footmen,  and  whence,  meanwhile,  we  can  derive  such 
Sanscrit-sounding  adjurations,  with  such  fine  moonlight!" 

The  presence  of  the  first  officer  was  now  added  to  the 
party,  who  came  down  for  a  cup  of  tea,  fresh  from  duty,  and 
flavoring  strongly  of  a  pilot  cheroot.  "How  does  she  head, 
Mr.  Wood?"  asked  the  captain. 

"Sou'-west-by-west,  sir — a  splendid  night,  under  every- 
thing that  will  draw — spray  up  to  the  starboard  cathead !" 

"But  as  to  this  story,  again,  Captain  Collins  ?"  said  Mrs.  St. 
Clair,  as  soon  as  she  had  poured  out  the  chief  mate's  cup. 
"Well,"  said  the  captain,  "if  you  choose  to  listen  till  badtime 
to  a  plain  draught  of  the  affair,  why  I  suppose  I  must  tell  it 
you;  and  what  remains  then  may  stand  over  till  next  fine 
night.  It  may  look  a  little  romantic,  being  in  the  days  when 
most  people  are  such  themselves,  but,  at  any  rate,  we  sailors 
— or  else  we  should  never  have  been  at  sea,  you  know;  so 
you  '11  allow  for  that,  and  a  spice  to  boot  of  what  we  used  to 
call  at  sea  'lovemaking' ;  happily  there  were  no  soft  speeches 
in  it,  like  those  in  books,  for  then  I  should  n't  tell  it  at  all. 

"By  the  time  I  was  twenty-four,  I  had  been  nine  years  at 
sea,  and  at  the  end  of  the  war,  was  third  lieutenant  of  a  crack 
twenty-eight,  the  saucy  'Iris' — as  perfect  a  sloop-model, 
though  over-sparred  certainly,  as  ever  was  eased  off  the  ways 
of  Chatham,  or  careened  to  a  north-easter.  The  Admiralty 
had  almost  learned  to  build  by  that  day,  and  a  glorious  ship 
she  was,  made  for  going  after  the  small  fry  of  privateers, 
pirates,  and  slavers,  that  swarmed  about  the  time.  Though  I 
had  roughed  it  in  all  sorts  of  craft,  from  a  first-rate  to  a  dirty 
French  lugger  prize,  and  had  been  eastward,  so  as  to  see  the 
sea  in  its  pride  at  the  Pacific,  yet  the  feeling  you  have  de- 
pends on  the  kind  of  ship  you  are  in.  I  never  knew  so  well 
what  it  was  to  be  fond  of  a  ship  and  the  sea;  and  when  I 
heard  of  the  poor  'Iris',  that  had  never  been  used  to  anything 
but  blue  water  on  three  parts  of  the  horizon  at  least,  laying 
her  bones  not  long  after  near  Wicklow  Head,  I  could  n't  help 
a  gulp  in  the  throat.  I  once  dreamed  I  had  gone  down  in  her, 
and  risen  again  to  the  surface  with  the  loss  of  my  brains,  such 
as  I  had  had;  while  at  the  same  moment,  there  I  was,  still 
sitting  below  on  a  locker  in  the  wardroom,  with  the  arms  of 


28  THE  GREEN   HAND 

her  beautiful  figure-head  around  me,  and  her  mermaid's  tail 
like  the  best-bower  cable,  with  an  anchor  at  the  end  of  it  far 
away  out  of  soundings,  over  which  I  bobbed  and  dipped  for 
years  and  years,  in  all  weathers,  like  a  buoy.  We  had  no 
Mediterranean  time  of  it,  though,  in  the  'Iris,'  off  the  Guinea 
coast,  from  Cape  Palmas  to  Cape  Negro;  looking  out  to  wind- 
ward for  white  squalls,  and  to  leeward  for  black  ones,  and 
inshore  for  Spanish  cattle-dealers,  as  we  called  them,  had 
made  us  all  as  sharp  as  so  many  marline  spikes ;  and  our  cap- 
tain was  a  man  that  taught  us  seamanship,  with  a  trick  or 
two  beyond.  The  slavers  had  not  got  to  be  so  clever  then, 
either,  with  their  schooners  and  clippers;  they  built  for  stow- 
age, and  took  the  chance,  so  that  we  sent  in  bale  after  bale 
to  the  West  India  admiral,  made  money,  and  enjoyed  our- 
selves now  and  then  at  the  Cape  de  Verdes.  However,  this 
kind  of  thing  was  so  popular  at  home,  as  pickings  after  the 
great  haul  was  over,  that  the  'Iris'  had  to  give  up  her  station 
to  a  post-frigate,  and  be  paid  off.  The  war  was  over,  and 
nobody  could  expect  to  be  promoted  without  a  friend  near  the 
blue  table-cloth,  although  a  quiet  hint  to  a  secretary's  palm 
would  work  wonders,  if  strong  enough.  But  most  of  such 
lucky  fellows  as  ourselves  dissipated  their  funds  in  blazing 
away  at  balls  and  parties,  where  the  gold  band  was  everything, 
and  the  ladies  wore  blue  ribbons  and  anchor  brooches  in  honor 
of  the  navy.  The  men  spent  everything  in  a  fortnight,  even 
to  their  clothes,  and  had  little  further  chance  of  eating  the 
king's  biscuit  with  hopes  of  prize-money;  I  used  to  see  knots 
of  them,  in  red  shirts  and  dirty  slops,  amongst  the  foremast 
Jacks  in  outward-bound  ships,  dropping  past  Greenwich,  and 
waving  their  hats  to  the  Hospital.  You  knew  them  at  once 
by  one  of  them  giving  the  song  for  the  topsail-halyards,  in- 
stead of  the  merchantmen's  bull's  chorus;  indeed,  I  could 
always  pick  off  the  dashing  men-o'-war's-men,  by  face  and  eye 
alone,out  from  among  the  others,  who  looked  as  sober  and 
solitary,  with  their  serious  faces  and  way  of  going  about  a 
thing,  as  if  every  one  of  them  was  the  whole  crew.  I  once 
read  a  bit  of  poetry  called  the 'Ancient  Mariner,' to  old  Jacobs, 
who  by  the  bye  is  something  of  a  breed  betwixt  the  two  kinds, 
and  his  remark  was:  'That  old  chap  warn't  used  to  hoisting 
altogether  with  a  run,  your  honor !  By  his  looks  I  'd  say  he 
was  bred  where  there  was  few  in  a  watch,  and  the  watch- 
tackle  laid  out  pretty  often  for  an  eke  to  drag  down  the  fore- 
tack.' 

"As  I  was  riding  down  to  Croydon  in  Surrey,  where  my 
mother  and  sister  had  gone  to  live,  I  fell  in  with  a  sample  of 


A  SEA  STORT  29 

the  hard  shifts  the  men-o'-war's-men  were  put  to  in  getting 
across  from  harbor  to  some  merchant  port,  when  all  their 
money  was  chucked  away.  It  was  at  a  little  town  called 
Bromley,  where  I  brought  to  by  the  door  of  a  tavern  and  had 
a  pail  for  the  horse,  with  a  bottle  of  cider  for  myself  at  the 
open  window,  the  afternoon  being  hot.  There  was  a  crowd  of 
towns -people  at  the  other  end  of  the  street,  country  bumpkins 
and  boys — women  looking  out  at  the  windows,  dogs  barking, 
and  children  shouting — the  whole  concern  bearing  down 
upon  us. 

"  'What  'a  all  this  ?'  said  I  to  the  ostler. 

"  'Don't  know,  sir,'  said  he,  scratching  his  head ;  '  'tis  very 
hodd,  sir!  That  corner  is  rather  a  sharp  turn  for  the  coach, 
sir,  and  she  do  sometimes  run  over  a  child  there,  or  some- 
think.  But  'taint  her  time  yet!  Nothink  else  hever  'appens 
'ere,  sir.' 

"As  soon  as  I  could  hear  or  see  distinctly  for  the  confusion, 
I  observed  the  magnet  of  it  to  be  a  party  of  five  or  six  regular 
blue- jackets,  a  good  deal  battered  in  their  rig,  who  were  roar- 
ing out  sea-songs  in  grand  style  as  they  came  along,  leading 
what  I  thought  at  first  was  a  bear.  The  chief  words  I  heard 
were  what  I  knew  well.  'We  '11  disregard  their  tommy-hawks, 
likewise  their  scalping-knives — and  fight  alongside  of  our 
mates  to  save  our  precious  lives — like  British  tars  and  sowl- 
diers  in  the  North  Americay !' 

"On  getting  abreast  of  the  inn  door,  and  finding  an  offing 
with  good  holding-ground,  I  suppose,  they  hove  to  and  struck 
up  the  'Buffalo,'  that  finest  of  chants  for  the  weather  fore- 
castle with  a  spanking  breeze,  outward  bound,  and  the  pilot 
lately  dropped : 

"  Come,  all  you  young  men  and  maidens,  that  wishes  for  to  sail, 

And  I  will  let  you  hear  of  where  you  must  a-roam ; 
We'll  embark  into  a  ship  which  her  taups'ls  is  let  fall, 

And  all  unto  an  ileyand  where  we  never  will  go  home ; 
Especiallye  you  ladles  that's  anxious  for  to  rove— 

There's  fishes  in  the  sea,  my  love,  likewise  the  buck  an'doe, 
We'll  lie  down— on  the  banks — of  yon  pleasant  shadye  gro-ove, 
Through  the  wild  woods  we'll  wander  and  we'll  chase  the  buffalo — ho — ho — 
We'll  chase  the  buffalo ! 

"I  really  couldn't  help  laughing  to  see  the  slapping,  big- 
bearded  fellows,  like  so  many  foretopmen,  showing  off  in  this 
manner — one  mahogany-faced  thoroughbred  leading,  the  rest 
thundering  in. at  the  chorus,  with  a  tremendous  stress  on  the 
'Lo — ho — ho,'  that  made  the  good  Bromley  folks  gape.  As 
to  singing  for  money,  however,  I  knew  no  true  tar  with  his 
members  whole  would  do  it;  and  I  supposed  it  to  be  merely 


30  THE  GREEN  HAND 

some  'spree  ashore,'  until  the  curious-looking  object  from 
behind  was  lugged  forward  by  a  couple  of  ropes,  proving  to  be 
a  human  figure  above  six  feet  high,  with  a  rough  canvas 
cover  as  far  as  the  knees.  What  with  three  holes  at  the  face, 
and  the  strange  color  of  the  legs,  which  were  bare — with  a 
pair  of  turned-up  India  shoes,  and  the  whole  shape  like  a 
walking  smoke-funnel  over  a  ship's  caboose — I  was  puzzled 
what  they  would  be  at.  The  leading  tar  immediately  took  off 
his  hat,  waved  it  round  for  a  clear  space,  and  gave  a  hem! 
while  he  pointed  to  the  mysterious  creature.  'Now,  my  lads !' 
said  he,  'this  here  wonderful  bein'  is  a  savitch  we  brought 
aboard  of  us  from  the  Andyman  Isles,  where  he  was  caught 
one  mornin'  paddling  round  the  ship  in  a  canoe  made  out  of 
the  bark  of  a  sartain  tree.  Bein'  the  ownly  spice  of  the  sort 
brought  to  this  country  as  yet  is,  and  we  havin'  run  short  of 
the  needful  to  take  us  to  the  next  port,  we  expects  every  lady 
and  gemman  as  has  the  wherewithal  will  give  us  a  lift  by 
consideration  of  this  same  cur'ous  sight,  and  does  n't — 
'Heave  ahead,  Tom,  lad!'  said  another  encouragingly,  as  the 
sailor  brought  up  fairly  out  of  breath.  'Does  n't  want  no 
man's  money  for  nou't,  d'ye  see,  but  all  fair  an'  above  board. 
We  're  not  agoin'  to  show  this  'ere  sight  excep'  you  makes  up 
half-a-guinea  amongst  ye — arter  that  all  hands  may  see  shot- 
free — them 's  the  articles !'  'Ay,  ay.  Tom,  well  said,  old  ship !' 
observed  the  rest;  and,  after  a  considerable  clinking  of  coin 
amongst  the  crowd,  the  required  sum  was  poured,  in  pence 
and  sixpences,  into  Tom's  hat.  'All  right !'  said  he,  as  soon 
as  he  had  counted  it — 'hoist  away  the  tarpaulin,  mates!' 
For  my  part,  I  was  rather  surprised  at  the  rare  appearance  of 
this  said  savage,  when  his  cover  was  off — his  legs  and  arms 
naked,  his  face  streaked  with  yellow,  and  both  parts  the 
color  of  red  boom- varnish;  his  red  hair  done  up  in  a  tuft, 
with  feathers  all  around  it,  and  a  bright  feather  tippet  over 
his  shoulders,  as  he  stood,  six  feet  in  his  yellow  slippers,  and 
looking  sulkily  enough  at  the  people.  'Bobbery  puckalow,' 
said  the  nautical  head-showman,  and  all  at  once  up  jumped 
the  Andaman  islander,  dancing  furiously,  holding  a  little 
Indian  punkah  over  his  head,  and  nourishing  with  the  other 
hand  what  reminded  me  strongly  of  a  ship's  top-maul — shout- 
ing 'Goor — goor — gooree !'  while  two  of  the  sailors  held  on  by 
the  ropes.The-crowd  made  plenty  of  room,  and  Tom  proceeded 
to  explain  to  them  very  civilly,  that  'in  them  parts  'twas  so  hot 
the  natives  would  n't  fight,  save  under  a  portiable  awning.' 
Having  exhibited  the  points  of  their  extraordinary  savage,  he 
was  calmed  again,  by  another  uncouth  word  of  command, 


A  SEA  STORY  31 

when  the  man-o'-war's-man  attempted  a  further  traverse  on 
the  good  Bromley  folks,  for  which  I  gave  him  great  credit. 
'Now,  my  lads  and  lasses,'  said  he,  taking  off  his  hat  again,  'I 
s'pose  you  're  all  British  subjects  and  Englishmen !'  at  which 
there  was  a  murmur  of  applause.  'Very  good,  mates  all!' 
continued  the  foretopman,  approvingly.  'Then,  in  course,  ye 
knows  as  how  whatsomever  touches  British  ground  is  free!' 
'Britons  never,  never  shall  be  slaves !'  sung  out  a  boy,  and  the 
screaming  and  hurrahing  was  universal.  Tom  stuck  his 
tongue  in  his  cheek  to  his  messmates,  and  went  on :  'Though 
we  was  all  pressed  ourselves,  and  has  knocked  about  in  sar- 
vice  of  our  king  and  country,  an'  bein'  poor  men,  we  honors 
the  flag,  my  lads!'  'Hoorah!  hoorah!  hoorrray!'  'So  you 
see,  gemmen,  my  shipmates  an'  me  has  come  to  the  resolve  of 
lettiii'  this  here  wild  savitch  go  free  into  the  woods — though 
bein'  poor  men,  d'ye  see,  we  hopes  ye  '11  make  it  up  to  us  a  bit 
first !  What  d'ye  say,  all  hands  ? — slump  together  for  the  other 

guinea,  will  ye,  and  off  he  goes  this  minute,  and Eh? 

what  d'ye  say,  shipmates?'  'Ay,  ay,  Tom,  sink  the  damage, 
too!'  said  his  comrades;  'we'll  always  get  a  berth  at  Black- 
wall,  again!' 

"  'Stand  by  to  ease  off  his  tow-lines,  then,'  said  Tom — 
'now  look  sharp  with  the  shiners  there,  my  lads —  ownly  a 
guinea!'  'No,  no!'  murmured  the  towns-people,  'send  for  the 
constable —  we'll  all  be  scalped  and  murdered  in  our  beds! 
— no,  no,  for  God's  sake,  mister  sailors!'  A  grocer  ran  out 
of  his  door  to  beg  the  tars  would  n't  think  of  such  a  thing, 
and  the  village  constable  came  shoving  himself  in  with  the 
beadle.  'Come,  come,'  said  the  constable,  in  a  soothing 
stylo,  while  the  beadle  tried  to  look  big  and  blustering,  'you 
must  n't  do  it,  my  good  men —  not  on  no  desideration,  here — 
in  his  majesty's  name.  Take  un  on  to  the  next  parish — I 
border  all  good  subjects  to  resist  me!'  'What!'  growled  the 
foretopman,  with  an  air  of  supreme  disgust,  'han't  ye  no 
f eelin's  for  liberty  hereaway  ?  Parish  be  blowed !  Bill, 
my  lad,  let  go  his  moorings,  and  give  the  poor  wretch  his 
nat'ral  freedom !'  'I  'm  right  down  ashamed  on  my  country,' 
said  Bill.  'Hullo,  shipmates,  cast  off  at  once,  an'  never  mind 
the  loss — I  hasn't  slept  easy  myself  sin'  he  wor  cotched!' 
'Nor  me  either,'  said  another ;  'but  I  'm  feared  he  '11  play 
old  Harry  when  he  's  loose,  mate.' 

"I  had  been  watching  the  affair  all  this  time  from  inside,  a 
good  deal  amused,  in  those  days,  at  the  trick — especially  so 
well  carried  out  as  it  was  by  the  sailors.  'Here,  my  fine 
fellows,'  said  I  at  last,  'bring  him  in,  if  you  please,  and  let  me 


32  THE  GREEN  HAND 

have  a  look  at  him.'  Next  minute  in  came  the  whole  party, 
and  supposing  from  my  plain  clothes  I  was  merely  some  long- 
shore traveller,  they  put  their  savage  through  his  dance  with 
great  vigor.  'Wonderfully  tame  he 's  got,  your  honor !' 
said  the  topman ;  'it 's  nothing  to  what  he  does  if  you  freshens 
his  nip.'  'What  does  he  eat?'  I  asked,  pretending  not  to 
understand  the  hint.  'Why,  naught  to  speak  on,  sir,'  said 
he ;  'but  we  wonst  lost  a  boy  doorin'  the  cruise,  nobody  know'd 
how — though  'twas  thought  he  went  o'board,  some  on  us  had 
our  doubts.'  'Curiously  tattooed,  too,'  I  said;  'I  should 
like  to  examine  his  arm.'  'A  bit  obstropolous  he  is,  your 
honor,  if  you  handles  him.'  'Never  mind,'  said  I,  getting 
up  and  seizing  the  wrist  of  the  Andaman  islander,  in  spite 
of  his  grins;  and  my  suspicions  were  immediately  fulfilled 
by  seeing  a  whole  range  of  familiar  devices  marked  in  blue  on 
the  fellow's  arm — amongst  them  an  anchor  with  a  heart  trans- 
fixed by  a  harpoon,  on  one  side  the  word  'Sal,'  and  on  the 
other  'M.  O.,  1811.'  'Where  did  you  steal  this  top-maul,  you 
rascal  ?'  said  I,  coolly  looking  in  his  face ;  while  I  noticed  one 
of  the  men  overhauling  me  suspiciously  out  of  his  weather- 
eye,  and  sliding  to  the  door.  'I  did  n't  stale  it  at  all,'  ex- 
claimed the  savage,  giving  his  red  head  a  scratch,  '  'twas 
Bill  Green  there — by  japers !  whack,  pillalew,  mates,  I  'm 
done!'  'Lor!  oh  lor!'  said  Bill  himself,  -quite  crestfallen, 
'if  I  did  n't  think  'twas  him.  We  're  all  pressed  again, 
mate,  it's  the  leftenaut.'  'Pressed,  bo'?'  said  Tom;  'more 
luck,  I  wish  we  was — but  they  would  n't  take  ye  now  for  a 
bounty,  you  know.'  Here  I  was  fain  to  slack  down  and  give  a 
hearty  laugh,  particularly  at  recognizing  Bill,  who  had  been 
a  shipmate  of  Jacobs  and  myself  on  the  old  'Pandora,'  and 
was  nicknamed  'Green' — I  believe  from  a  small  adventure 
of  ours — so  I  gave  the  men  half-a-guinea  apiece  to  carry  them 
on.  'Long  life  to  your  honor,'  said  they;  and  said  Tom, 
'If  I  might  make  so  bould,  sir,  if  your  honor  has  got  a  ship 
yet,  we  all  knows  ye,  sir,  and  we'd  enter,  if  'twas  for  the 
North  Pole  itself.'  'No,  my  lad,'  said  I,  'I  'm  sorry  to  say 
I  have  not  got  so  far  yet.  Dykes,  my  man,  can  you  tell 
me  where  your  old  messmate  Jacobs  has  got  to?'  'Why, 
sir,'  replied  Bill,  'I  did  hear  he  was  livin'  at  Wapping  with 
his  wife,  where  we  means  to  give  him  a  call  too,  sir.'  'Good 
day,  your  honor,'  said  all  of  them,  as  they  put  on  their  hats 
to  go,  and  covered  their  curiosity  again  with  his  tarpaulin. 
'I  'm  blessed,  Bill,'  said  Tom,  'but  we  '11  knock  off  this  hero 
carrivanning  now,  and  put  before  the  wind  for  Blackwall.' 
'Won't  you  give  your  savage  his  freedom,  then?'  I  asked. 


A  SEA  STORY  33 

'Sartinly,  your  honor,'  replied  the  roguish  foretopman,  his 
eye  twinkling  as  he  saw  that  I  enjoyed  the  joke.  'Now, 
Mick,  my  lad,  ye  must  run  like  the  devil  so  soon  as  we  casts 
ye  off.'  'Oh,  by  the  powers,  thry  me!'  said  the  Irishman; 
'I  'm  sick,  tired  o'  this  cannible  minnatchery.  By  the  holy 
Moses,  though,  I  must  have  a  dhrop  o'  dew  in  me,  or  I  '11 
fall!'  Mick  accordingly  swigged  off  a  noggin  of  gin,  and 
declared  himself  ready  to  start.  'Head  due  nor'-east  from 
the  sun,  Mick,  and  we  '11  pick  you  up  in  the  woods,  and  rig 
you  out  all  square  again,'  said  the  captain  of  the  gang,  before 
presenting  himself  to  the  mob  outside.  'Now,  gemmen  and 
ladies  all,'  said  the  sailor  coolly,  'ye  see  we  're  bent  on  givin' 
this  here  poor  unfort'nate  his  liberty — an'  bein'  tould  we  've 
got  the  law  on  our  side,  why,  we  means  to  do  it.  More  by 
token,  there  's  a  lef tenant  in  the  Roy'l  Navy  aboard  there,  as 
has  made  up  the  little  salvage-money,  bein'  poor  men,  orderin' 
us  for  to  do  it — so  look  out.  If  ye  only  gives  him  a  clear 
offing,  he  '11  do  no  harm.  Steady,  Bill — slack  off  the  star- 
board sheet,  Jack — let  go — all !'  'Oh !  oh ! — no !  no ! — for 
God's  sake !'  screamed  the  bystanders,  as  they  scuttled  off  to 
both  hands — 'shame,  shame — knock  un  down,  catch  un — 
tipstaff,  beadle !'  'Hurrah !'  roared  the  boys,  and  off  went 
Mick  O'Hooney  in  fine  style,  flourishing  his  top-maul,  with 
a  wild  'hullaloo,'  right  away  over  a  fence,  into  a  garden, 
and  across  a  field  towards  the  nearest  wood.  Everybody 
fell  out  of  his  way  as  he  dashed  on;  then  some  running 
after  him,  dogs  barking,  and  the  whole  of  the  seamen  giv- 
ing chase  with  their  tarpaulins  in  their  hands,  as  if  to 
drive  him  far  enough  into  the  country.  The  whole  thing 
was  extremely  rich,  seen  through  the  open  air  from  the 
tavern  window,  where  I  sat  laughing  till  the  tears  came 
into  my  eyes,  at  Jack-tars'  roguishness  and  the  stupefied 
Kent  rustics,  as  they  looked  to  each  other;  then  at  the  sail- 
ors rolling  away  full  speed  along  the  edge  of  the  planta- 
tion where  the  outlandish  creature  had  disappeared;  and, 
lastly,  at  the  canvas  cover  which  lay  on  the  spot  where 
he  had  stood.  They  were  actually  consulting  how  to  guard 
against  possible  inroads  from  the  savage  at  night,  since  he 
might  be  lurking  near,  when  I  mounted  and  rode  off;  I 
daresay  even  their  hearing  that  I  was  a  live  and  real  lieu- 
tenant would  cap  the  whole  story. 

"Croydon  used  to  be  a  pretty,  retired  little  town,  you 
know,  so  quiet  and  old-fashioned  that  I  enjoyed  the  un- 
usual rest  of  it,  and  the  very  look  of  the  canal,  the  market- 
place, the  old  English  trees  and  people — by  comparison 


34  THE  GREEN  HAND 

with  even  the  'Iris's'  white  decks,  and  her  circumference  of 
a  prospect,  so  different  every  morning  or  hour  of  the 
day.  My  mother  and  my  sister  Jane  were  so  kind — they 
petted  me  so,  and  were  so  happy  to  have  me  down  to 
breakfast  and  out  walking,  even  to  feel  the  smell  of  my 
cigar — that  I  hardly  knew  where  I  was.  I  gave  them 
an  account  of  the  places  I  had  seen,  with  a  few  tremen- 
dous storms  and  a  frigate-fight  or  two,  instead  of  the 
horse-marine  stories  about  mermaids  and  flying  Dutchmen 
I  used  to  pass  upon  them  when  a  conceited  youngster.  Jane, 
the  little  gypsy,  would  listen  with  her  ear  to  a  large  shell, 
when  we  were  upon  sea  matters,  and  shut  her  eyes,  saying 
she  could  fancy  the  things  so  well  that  way.  Or  was  it 
about  India,  there  was  a  painted  sandal-wood  fan  carved 
in  open-work  like  the  finest  lace,  which  she  would  spread 
over  her  face,  because  the  seeing  through  it,  and  its  scent, 
made  her  feel  as  if  she  were  in  the  tropics.  As  for  my 
mother,  good  simple  woman,  she  was  always  between  as- 
tonishment and  horror,  never  having  believed  that  lieu- 
tenants would  be  so  heartless  as  to  masthead  a  midship- 
man for  the  drunkenness  of  a  boat's  crew,  nor  being  able  to 
understand  why,  with  a  gale  brewing  to  seaward,  a  captain 
tried  to  get  his  ship  as  far  as  he  could  from  land.  The 
idea  of  my  going  to  sea  again  never  entered  her  head,  the 
terrible  war  being  over,  and  the  rank  I  had  gained  being 
invariably  explained  to  visitors  as  at  least  equal  to  that 
of  a  captain  amongst  soldiers.  To  the  present  day,  this 
is  the  point  with  respect  to  seafaring  matters  on  which 
my  venerated  and  worthy  parent  is  clearest:  she  will  take 
off  her  gold  spectacles,  smoothing  down  her  silver  hair 
'with  the  other  hand,  and  lay  down  the  law  as  to  reform 
in  naval  titles,  showing  that  my  captain's  commission  puts 
me  on  a  level  with  a  military  colonel.  However,  as  usual, 
I  got  tired  by  little  and  little  of  this  sort  of  thing;  I  fancy 
there  's  some  peculiar  disease  gets  into  a  sailor's  brain  that 
makes  him  uneasy  with  a  firm  floor  and  no  offing  beyond; 
certainly  the  country  about  Croydon  was  to  my  mind,  at 
that  time,  the  worst  possible — all  shut  in,  narrow  lanes, 
high  hedges  and  orchards,  no  sky  except  overhead,  and  no 
horizon.  If  I  could  only  have  got  a  hill,  there  would  have 
been  some  relief  in  having  a  lookout  from  it.  Money  I 
had  no  want  of;  and  as  for  fame  or  rank,  I  neither  had 
the  ambition,  nor  did  I  ever  fancy  myself  intended  for  an 
admiral  or  a  Nelson ;  all  my  wish  was  to  be  up  and  driv- 
ing about,  on  account  of  something  that  was  in  me.  I  always 


A  SEA  STORY  35 

enjoyed  a  good  breeze  as  some  do  champagne;  and  the 
very  perfection  of  glory,  to  my  thinking,  was  to  be  the 
soul  of  a  gallant  ship  in  a  regular  Atlantic  howler;  or  to 
play  at  long  bowls  with  one's  match  to  leeward,  off  the 
ridges  of  a  sea,  with  both  weather  and  the  enemy  to  man- 
age. Accordingly,  I  wasn't  at  all  inclined  to  go  jog- 
ging along  in  one  of  your  easy  merchantmen,  where  you 
have  nothing  new  to  find  out;  and  I  only  waited  to  hear, 
from  some  friends  who  were  bestirring  themselves  with  the 
Board,  of  a  ship  where  there  might  be  something  to  do. 
These  were  my  notions  in  those  days,  before  getting  sobered 
down,  which  I  tell  you  for  the  sake  of  not  seeming  such  a 
fool  in  this  said  adventure." 


CHAPTER  III. 

"WELL,  one  evening  my  sister  Jane  and  I  went  to  a  race- 
ball  at  Epsom,  where,  of  course,  we  saw  all  the  'beauty  and 
fashion,'  as  they  say,  of  the  country  round,  with  plenty  of 
the  army  men,  who  were  in  all  their  glory,  with  Waterloo 
and  all  that;  we  two  or  three  poor  nauticals  being  quite 
looked  down  upon  in  comparison,  since  Nelson  was  dead, 
and  we  had  left  ourselves  nothing  at  the  end  to  fight 
with.  I  even  heard  one  belle  ask  a  dragoon  'what  uniform 
that  was — was  it  the  horse-artillery  corps?'  'Haw!'  said 
the  dragoon,  squinting  at  me  through  an  eyeglass,  and  then 
looking  with  one  eye  at  his  spurs,  and  with  the  other 
at  his  partner,  'not  at  all  sure!  T  do  think,  after  all,  Miss 

— ,  't  is  the — the  marine  body — a  sort  of  amphibious  ani- 
mals !  They  were  n't  with  us,  though,  you  know — could  n't 
be,  indeed,  though  it  was  Waterloo !  Haw!  haw!  you'll  ex- 
cuse the  joke,  Miss  -  — ?'  'Ha!  ha!  how  extremely  witty, 

Captain  !'  said  the  young  lady,  and  they  whirled  away 

towards  the  other  end  of  the  hall.  I  never  felt  more  in- 
clined to  pull  a  fellow's  nose,  till  all  of  a  sudden  my  head 
turned,  and  T  forgot  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  dragoon 
in  the  world,  for  I  saw  what  I  thought  the  loveliest  young 
creature  ever  crossed  my  eyes,  coming  out  of  the  refresh- 
ment-room with  two  ladies,  an  old  and  an  elderly  one.  The 
first  was  finely  dressed  out,  and  I  set  her  down  for  an  aunt, 
she  was  so  unlike;  the  other  for  a  governess.  The  young 
lady  was  near  sixteen  to  appearance,  all  in  white.  There 
were  many  beauties  in  the  ballroom  you  would  have  called 


36  THE  GREEN   HAND 

handsomer;  but  there  was  something  about  her  altogether 
I  could  compare  to  nothing  else  but  the  white  figure-head 
of  the  'Iris,'  sliding  gently  along  in  the  first  curl  of  a 
breeze,  with  the  morning  sky  far  out  on  the  bow — curious 
as  you  may  think  it,  ladies !  Her  hair  was  brown,  and 
her  complexion  remarkably  pale  notwithstanding;  while  her 
eyes  were  as  dark  blue,  too,  as — as  the  ocean  near  the  line, 
that  sometimes,  in  a  clear  calm,  gets  to  melt  till  you  scarcely 
know  it  from  the  sky.  'Look,  Edward !'  whispered  my  sis- 
ter, 'what  a  pretty  creature !  She  can't  be  English,  she  looks 
so  different  from  everybody  in  the  room.  And  such  pearls 
in  her  hair !  such  a  beautifully  large  diamond  in  that  brooch ! 
Who  can  she  be,  I  wonder?'  I  was  so  taken  up,  however, 
that  I  never  recollected  at  all  what  Jane  said  till  at  night, 
in  thinking  the  matter  over;  and  then  a  whole  breeze  of 
whisperings  seemingly  came  from  every  corner  of  the  cloak- 
room, of  'Who  is  she?'  'Who  can  she  be?'  'Who's  her 
father?'  and  so  on,  which  I  remembered  to  have  heard.  I 
only  noticed  at  the  time  that  somebody  said  she  was  the 
daughter  of  some  rich  East  India  nabob  or  other,  just  come 
home.  A  post-captain  who  was  present — one  of  Colling- 
wood's  flag-lieutenants — went  up  to  the  old  chaperon,  whom 
he  seemed  to  know,  and  got  into  talk  with  her:  I  found 
afterwards  she  was  an  admiral's  widow.  In  a  little  I  saw 
him  introduced  to  the  young  lady,  and  ask  her  to  dance; 
I  fancied  she  hung  back  for  a  moment,  but  the  next  she 
bowed,  gave  a  slight  smile  to  the  captain's  gallant  sea- 
fashion  of  deep  respect  to  the  sex,  and  they  were  soon 
swimming  away  in  the  first  set.  Her  dancing  was  more  like 
walking  with  spread  wings  upon  air  than  upon  planks  with 
one's  arms  out,  as  the  captain  did.  I  'd  have  given  my 
eyes,  not  to  speak  of  my  commission  and  chances  to  come, 
to  have  gone  through  that  figure  with  her.  When  the  captain 
had  handed  her  to  her  seat  again,  two  or  three  of  the  dragoons 
sauntered  up  to  Lady  Somers's  sofa:  it  was  plain  they  were 
taken;  and  after  conversing  with  the  old  lady,  one  of 
them,  Lord  Somebody,  as  I  understood,  got  introduced,  in 
his  turn,  to  the  young  beauty.  As  may  be  supposed,  I  kept  a 
lookout  for  his  asking  her  to  dance,  seeing  that,  if  she  had 
done  so  with  one  of  the  embroidered  crew,  and  their  clat- 
tering gear,  I  'd  have  gone  out  that  instant,  found  out  the 
Waterloo  fellow  next  day,  and,  if  not  shot  myself,  have 
drilled  him  with  an  anchor  button  for  a  bullet,  and  run  off 
in  the  first  craft  I  could  get.  The  cool,  easy,  impertinent 
way  this  second  man  made  his  request,  though — just  as  if 


A  SEA  STORY  37 

he  could  n't  be  refused,  and  didn't  care  about  it — it  was 
as  different  from  the  captain  of  the  'DiomedeV  as  red 
from  blue.  My  heart  went  like  the  main-tack  blocks  thrash- 
ing when  you  luff  too  much;  so  you  may  guess  what  I 
felt  to  see  the  young  lady,  who  was  leaning  back  on  the 
sofa,  give  her  head  a  pettish  sort  of  turn  to  the  old  one, 
without  a  word,  as  much  as  to  say  she  didn't  want  to. 
'My  love!'  I  heard  the  old  lady  say,  'I  fear  you  are  tired! 
My  lord,  your  lordship  must  excuse  Miss  Hyde  on  this 
occasion,  as  she  is  in  delicate  health!'  The  dragoon  was 
a  polite  nobleman,  according  to  his  cloth;  so  he  kept  on 
talking  and  smiling,  till  he  could  walk  off  without  seeming 
as  if  he  'd  got  his  sabre  betwixt  his  feet ;  but  I  fancied 
him  a  little  down  by  the  head  when  he  did  go.  All  the  time 
the  young  beauty  was  sitting  with  her  face  as  quiet  and 
indifferent  as  may  be,  only  there  was  a  sparkle  in  her  blue 
eyes,  and  in  nothing  else  but  the  pearls  in  her  hair,  as  she 
looked  on  at  the  dancing;  and,  to  my  eye,  there  was  a 
touch  of  the  rose  came  out  on  her  pale  cheek,  clear,  though 
it  was  before  the  dragoon  spoke  to  her.  Not  long  after, 
an  oldish  gentleman  came  out  with  a  gray-haired  old  gen- 
eral from  the  refreshment-room :  a  thin  yellow-complexioned 
man  he  was,  with  no  whiskers  and  bald  forehead  and  a 
bilious  eye,  but  handsome,  and  his  face  as  pompous  and 
solemn-looking  as  if  he  'd  been  First  Lord,  or  had  got  a 
whole  court-martial  on  his  shoulders  for  next  day.  I  should 
have  known  him  from  a  thousand  for  a  man  that  had  lived 
in  the  East,  were  it  nothing  but  the  quick  way  he  looked 
over  his  shoulder  for  a  servant  or  two,  when  he  wanted 
his  carriage  called — no  doubt  just  as  one  feels  when  he 
forgets  he  's  ashore,  like  I  did  every  now  and  then,  looking 
up  out  to  windward,  and  getting  a  garden-wall  or  a  wood 
slap  into  one's  eyesight,  as  'twere.  I  laid  down  the  old 
gentleman  at  once  for  this  said  nabob;  in  fact,  as  soon 
as  a  footman  told  him  his  carriage  was  waiting,  he  walked 
up  to  the  young  lady  and  her  companions,  and  went  off 
with  them,  a  steward  and  a  lady  patroness  convoying  them 
to  the  break  of  the  steps.  The  only  notion  that  ran  in  my 
head,  on  the  way  home  that  night  with  my  sister,  was,  'By 
heavens!  I  might  just  as  well  be  in  love  with  the  bit  of 
sky  at  the  end  of  the  fly  ing-jib-boom!'  and  all  the  while 
the  confounded  wheels  kept  droning  it  into  me,  till  I  was 
as  dizzy  as  the  first  time  I  looked  over  the  fore-royal-yard. 
The  whole  night  long  I  dreamed  I  was  mad  after  the 
figure-head  of  the  'Iris,'  and  asked  her  to  dance  with  me, 


38  THE  GREEN  HAND 

on  which  she  turned  round  with  a  look  as  cold  as  water, 
or  plain  'No.'  At  last  I  caught  firm  hold  of  her  and  jumped 
overboard;  and  next  moment  we  were  heaving  on  the  blue 
swell  in  sight  of  the  black  old  Guinea  coast — when  round 
turned  the  figure  and  changed  into  Miss  Hyde;  and  the 
old  nabob  hauled  us  ashore  upon  a  beautiful  island,  where 
I  woke  and  thought  I  was  wanted  on  deck,  although  it  was 
only  my  mother  calling  me. 

"All  I  had  found  out  about  them  was,  that  Sir  Charles 
Hyde  was  the  name  of  the  East  Indian,  and  how  he  was 
a  Bengal  judge  newly  come  home;  where  they  lived,  no- 
body at  the  ball  seemed  to  know.  At  home,  of  course,  it 
was  so  absurd  to  think  of  getting  acquainted  with  a  rich 
Indian  judge  and  his  daughter,  that  I  said  no  more  of  the 
matter;  although  I  looked  so  foolish  and  care-about-noth- 
ing,  I  suppose,  that  my  mother  said  to  Jane  she  was  sure 
I  wanted  to  go  to  sea  again,  and  even  urged  me  to  'take 
a  trip  to  the  Downs,  perhaps.'  As  for  going  to  sea,  how- 
ever, I  felt  I  could  no  more  stir,  then,  from  where  I  was, 
than  with  a  best  bower  down,  and  all  hands  drunk  but  the 
captain.  There  was  a  favorite  lazy  spot  of  mine  near 
the  house,  where  I  used  to  lie  after'  dinner,  and  puff  away 
amongst  the  grass,  at  the  back  of  a  high  garden-wall  with 
two  doors  in  it,  and  a  plank  across  a  little  brook  running 
close  under  them.  All  round  was  a  green  paddock  for  cows; 
there  was  a  tall  tree  at  hand,  which  I  climbed  now  and  then 
half-mast  high,  to  get  a  look  down  a  long  lane  that  ran 
level  to  the  sky,  and  gave  you  a  sharp  gush  of  blue 
from  the  far  end.  Being  a  luxurious  dog  in  those  days, 
like  the  cloth  in  general  when  hung  up  ashore,  I  used  to 
call  it  'The  Idler's  Walk,'  and  'The  Lazy  Watch,'  where 
I  did  duty  somewhat  like  the  famous  bo'sun  that  told  his 
boy  to  call  him  every  night  and  say  the  captain  wanted 
him,  when  he  turned  over  with  a  polite  message,  and  no 
good  to  the  old  tyrant's  eyes. 

"Well,  one  afternoon  I  was  stretched  on  the  softest  bit 
of  this  retreat,  feeling  unhappy  all  over,  and  trying  to  think 
of  nothing  in  particular,  as  I  looked  at  the  wall  and  smoked 
my  cheroot.  Excuse  me  if  I  think  that,  so  far  as  I  re- 
member, there  is  nothing  so  consolatory,  though  it  can't 
of  course  cure  one,  as  a  fine  Manilla  for  the  'green  sick- 
ness/ as  our  foremast  fellows  would  say.  My  main  idea 
was  that  nothing  on  earth  could  turn  up  to  get  me  out 
of  this  scrape,  but  I  should  stick  eternally,  with  my  head 
sails  shivering  aback,  or  flapping  in  a  sickening  dead  calm. 


A  SEA  STORY  39 

It  was  a  beautiful  hot  summer  afternoon,  as  quiet  as  pos- 
sible, and  I  was  weary  to  death  of  seeing  that  shadow  of  the 
branch  lying  against  the  white  wall  down  to  the  keyhole 
of  the  nearest  door.  All  of  a  sudden  I  heard  the  sweetest 
voice  imaginable,  coming  down  the  garden  as  it  were,  sing- 
ing a  verse  of  a  Hindostanee  song  I  had  heard  the  Bengal 
r  girls  chant  with  their  pitchers  on  their  heads  at  the  well, 
of  an  evening : 

La  li  ta  la,  ta  perisi, 

La  na  comalay  ah  sahm-r&, 

Madna,  ca — rahm 

Ram  li  ta,  co-ca-la  lir  jhi ! 

La  li  ta  la,  vanga-la  ta  perisi. 

'Coc-coka-cokatoo ;  screamed  a  harsh  voice,  which  I  cer- 
tainly could  distinguish  from  the  first.  'Pretty  cockatoo!' 
said  the  other  coaxingly;  and  the  next  minute  the  large 
pink-flushed  bird  itself  popped  his  head  over  the  top-stones 
above  the  door,  floundering  about  with  his  throat  foul  of  the 
silver  chain  fast  to  his  leg,  till  he  hung  by  his  beak  on  my 
side  of  the  wall,  half  choked,  and  trying  to  croak  out — 
'Pretty — pretty  cocky!'  Before  I  had  time  to  think,  the 
door  opened,  and,  by  heavens !  there  was  my  very  charmer 
herself,  with  the  shade  of  the  green  leaves  showered  over 
her  distressed  face.  She  had  scarcely  seen  me  before  I 
sprang  up  and  caught  the  cockatoo,  which  bit  me  like  an 
imp  incarnate,  till  the  blood  ran  down  my  fingers  as  I 
handed  it  to  its  mistress,  my  heart  in  my  mouth,  and  more 
than  a  quarter-deck  bow  in  my  cap.  The  young  lady 
looked  at  me  first  in  surprise,  as  may  be  supposed,  and 
then,  with  a  smile  of  thanks  that  set  my  brain  all 
afloat,  'Oh,  dear  me!'  exclaimed  she,  'yon  are  hurt!'  'Hurt!' 
I  said,  looking  so  bewildered,  I  suppose,  that  she  could  n't 
help  laughing.  'Tippoo  is  very  stupid,'  continued  she,  smil- 
ing, 'because  he  is  out  of  his  own  country,  I  think.  You 
shall  have  no  sugar  to-night,  mister  cockatoo,  for  biting 
your  friends.' 

"'Were  you — ever  in  India — madam?'  I  stammered  out. 
'Not  since  I  was  a  child,'  she  answered;  but  just  then  I 
saw  the  figure  of  the  nabob  sauntering  down  the  garden,  and 
said  I  had  particular  business  ard  must  be  off.  'You  are 
very  busy  here,  sir?'  said  the  charming  young  creature, 
archly.  'You  are  longing  till  you  go  to  sea,  I  dare  say— like 
Tippoo  and  me.'  'You?'  said  T.  staring  at  the  keyhole  whilst 
she  caught  my  eye,  and  blushed  a  little,  as  I  thought.  'Yes, 


40  THE  GREEN   HAND 

we  are  going — I  long  to  see  India  again,  and  /  remember 
the  sea,  too,  like  a  dream.' 

"Oh,  heavens !  thought  I,  when  I  heard  the  old  gentleman 
call  out — 'Lota!  Lota  beebee-lee!  Kabultah,  meetoowahT* 
and  away  she  vanished  behind  the  door,  with  a  smile  dropped 
to  myself.  The  tone  of  the  judge's  voice,  and  his  speaking 
Hindoo,  showed  he  was  fond  of  his  daughter,  at  any  rate. 
Off  I  went,  too,  as  much  confused  as  before,  only  for  the 
new  thought  in  my  head.  'The  sea,  the  sea!'  I  shouted, 
as  soon  as  out  of  hearing,  and  felt  the  wind,  as  'twere, 
coming  from  aft  at  last,  like  the  first  ripple.  'Yes,  by 
George !'  said  I,  'outward  bound  for  a  thousand.  I  '11  go,  if 
it  was  before  the  mast.'  All  at  once  I  remembered  I  didn't 
know  the  ship's  name,  or  when.  Next  day,  and  the  next 
again.  I  was  skulking  about  my  old  place,  but  nobody  ap- 
peared— not  so  much  as  a  shadow  inside  the  keyhole.  At 
last  one  evening,  just  as  I  was  going  away,  the  door  opened; 
I  strolled  slowly  along,  when,  instead  of  the  charming  Lota, 
out  came  the  flat  brown  turban  of  an  ugly  Tcitmagar,  with 
a  moustache,  looking  round  to  see  who  was  there.  'Salaam, 
sah'b,'  said  the  brown  fellow,  holding  the  door  behind  him 
with  one  paw.  'Burra  judge  sahib  bhote  bhote  salaam 
send  uppiserf  sah'b — 'ope  not  dekhe$  after  sahib  cook-maid.' 
'Joot  bahtf  hurkut-jee '\  said  I,  laughing.  'Sah'b  been  my 
coontree ?'  inquired  the  Bengalee  more  politely.  'Jee,  yes' 
I  said,  wishing  to  draw  him  out.  'I  Inglitsh  can  is-peek,' 
continued  the  dark  footman,  conceitedly;  'ver  well,  sah'b, 
but  one  misfortune  us  for  come  i-here.  Baud  carry  make — 
plenty  too  much  poork — too  much  graug  drink.  Termeric 
— chili — banana  not  got — not  coco-tree  got — pah!  Baud 
coontree,  too  much  i-cold,  sah'b?'  'Curse  the  rascal's  impu- 
dence,' I  thought,  but  I  asked  him  if  he  wasn't  going  back. 
'Yis,  sah'b,  such  baht^  Al-il-alah?  Mohummud  burra  Meer- 
kea.  Bote  too  much  i-smell,  my  coontree.'  'When  are  you 
going?'  I  asked,  carelessly.  'Two  day  this  time,  sah'b.' 
'Can  you  tell  me  the  name  of  the  ship?'  I  went  on.  'The 
Tcitmagar  looked  at  me  slyly,  stroked  his  moustache,  and 
meditated;  after  which  he  squinted  at  me  again,  and  his 
lips  opened  so  as  to  form  the  magic  word,  '  BucTcshisTi?'  'Jee,' 
said  I,  holding  out  a  crown  piece,  'the  ship's  name  and  the 
harbor?'  'Se,'  began  he;  the  coin  touched  his  palm — 'ring'; 
his  fingers  closed  on  it,  and  'patahm,'  dropped  from  his 
leathery  lips.  'The  "Seringapatam"  ?'  I  said.  'Alin,  sah'b.' 

*  Little  pirl!    Do  you  hear,  sweet  one?       t  Officer.         jLook.        §  "Tis  a  lie, 
you  scoundrel.     ,  1  That  is  true. 


A  SEA  STORY  41 

'London,  eh?'  I  added;  to  which  he  returned  another  re- 
luctant assent,  as  if  it  wasn't  paid  for,  and  I  walked  off. 
However,  I  had  not  got  round  the  corner  before  I  noticed 
the  figure  of  the  old  gentleman  himself  looking  after  me 
from  the  doorway;  his  worthy  kitmagar  salaaming  to  the 
ground,  and  no  doubt  giving  information  how  the  'cheep 
uppiser'  had  tried  to  pump  him  to  no  purpose.  The  nabob 
looked  plainly  as  suspicious  as  if  I  had  wanted  to  break 
into  his  house,  since  he  held  his  hand  over  his  eyes  to 
watch  me  out  of  sight. 

"At  night,  I  told  my  mother  and  sister  I  should  be  off 
to  London  next  day  for  sea.  What  betwixt  their  vexation 
at  losing  me,  and  their  satisfaction  to  see  me  more  cheerful, 
with  talking  over  matters,  we  sat  up  half  the  night.  I 
was  so  ashamed,  though,  to  tell  them  what  I  intended,  con- 
sidering what  a  fool's  chase  it  would  seem  to  anyone  but 
myself,  that  I  kept  all  close;  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I 
was  so  full  of  my  love  affair,  with  the  wild  adventure 
of  it,  the  sea,  and  everything  besides,  as  not  to  feel  their 
anxiety  enough.  How  it  was  to  turn  out  I  didn't  know; 
but  somehow  or  other  I  was  resolved  I  'cl  contrive  to  make 
a  rope  if  I  couldn't  find  one;  at  the  worst,  I  might  carry 
the  ship,  gain  over  the  men,  or  turn  pirate  and  discover 
an  island.  Early  in  the  morning  I  packed  my  traps,  drew  a 
cheque  for  my  prize-money,  got  the  coach,  and  bowled  off  for 
London,  to  knock  up  Bob  Jacobs,  my  sea  godfather;  this 
being  the  very  first  step,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  in  making  the 
plan  feasible.  Rough  sort  of  confidant  as  he  may  look,  there 
was  no  man  living  I  would  have  trusted  before  him  for 
keeping  a  secret.  Bob  was  true  as  the  topsail  sheets;  and 
if  you  only  gave  him  the  course  to  steer,  without  any  of 
the  'puzzlement,'  as  he  called  the  calculating  part,  he  would 
stick  to  it,  blow  high,  blow  low.  He  was  just  the  fellow 
I  wanted,  for  the  lee  brace,  as  it  were,  to  give  my  weather 
one  a  purchase,  even  if  I  had  altogether  liked  the  notion  of 
setting  off  all  alone  on  what  I  could  n't  help  suspecting 
was  a  sufficiently  hare-brained  scheme  as  it  stood;  and,  to 
tell  the  truth,  it  was  only  to  a  straightforward,  simple- 
hearted  tar  like  Jacobs  that  I  could  have  plucked  up 
courage  to  make  it  known.  I  knew  he  would  enter  into  it 
like  a  reefer  volunteering  for  a  cutting  out,  and  make 
nothing  of  the  difficulties — especially  when  a  love  matter 
was  at  the  bottom  of  it:  the  chief  question  was  how  to 
discover  his  whereabouts,  as  Wapping  is  rather  a  wide 
word.  I  adopted  the  expedient  of  going  into  all  the  to- 


42  THE  GREEN  HAND 

bacco-shops  to  inquire  after  Jacobs,  knowing  him  to  be 
a  more  than  commonly  hard  smoker,  and  no  great  drinker 
ashore.  I  was  beginning  to  be  tired  out,  however,  and  give 
up  the  quest,  when,  at  the  corner  of  a  lane  near  the  docks, 
I  caught  sight  of  a  little  door  adorned  with  what  had 
apparently  been  part  of  a  ship's  figure-head — the  face  of  a 
nymph  or  nereid,  four  times  as  large  as  life,  with  tarnished 
gilding,  and  a  long  wooden  pipe  in  her  mouth  that  had  all 
the  effect  of  a  bowsprit,  being  stayed  up  by  a  piece  of 
marline  to  a  hook  in  the  wall,  probably  in  order  to  keep 
clear  of  people's  heads.  The  words  painted  on  its  two  head- 
boards, as  under  a  ship's  bow,  were  'Betsy  Jacobs,'  and 
'licensed'  on  the  top  of  the  door;  the  window  was  stowed 
full  of  cakes  of  cavendish,  twists  of  negrohead,  and  coils 
of  pigtail;  so  that,  having  heard  my  old  shipmate  speak 
of  a  certain  Betsy,  both  as  sweetheart  and  partner,  I  made 
at  once  pretty  sure  of  having  lighted,  by  chance,  on  his 
very  dry-dock,  and  went  in  without  more  ado.  I  found 
nobody  in  the  little  shop,  but  a  rough  voice,  as  like  as 
possible  to  Jacobs'  own,  was  chanting  the  sea-song  of  'Come, 
cheer  up,  my  lads,  'tis  to  glory  we  steer,'  in  the  back- 
room, in  a  curious  sleepy  kind  of  drone,  interrupted  every 
now  and  then  by  the  suck  of  his  pipe,  and  a  mysterious 
thumping  sound,  which  I  could  only  account  for  by  the 
supposition  that  the  poor  fellow  was  mangling  clothes,  or 
gone  mad.  I  was  obliged  to  kick  on  the  counter  with  all 
my  might,  in  competition,  before  an  eye  was  applied  from 
inside  to  the  little  window;  after  which,  as  I  expected, 
the  head  of  Jacobs  was  thrust  out  of  the  door,  his  hair 
rough,  three  days'  beard  on  his  chin,  and  he  in  his  shirt 
and  trousers.  Hisht!'  said  he,  in  a  low  voice,  not  seeing 
me  distinctly  for  the  light,  'you  're  not  callin'  the  watch, 
my  lad !  Hold  on  a  bit,  and  I  '11  serve  your  orders  di- 
rectly.' After  another  stave  of  'Hearts  of  oak  are  our 
ships,'  etc.,  in  the  same  drawl,  and  a  still  more  vigorous 
thumping  than  before,  next  minute  out  came  Bob  again ; 
with  a  wonderful  air  of  importance,  though,  and  drawing 
in  one  hand,  to  my  great  surprise,  the  slack  of  a  line  of 
'half-inch,'  on  which  he  gave  now  and  then  a  tug  and  an 
ease  off,  as  he  came  forward,  like  a  fellow  humoring  a 
newly-hooked  fish.  'Now  then,  my  hearty!'  said  he,  shading 

his  eyes  with  the  other  hand,  'bear  a '  'Why,  Jacobs,  old 

ship/  I  said,  'what 's  this  you  're  after  ?  Don't  you  know 
your  old  apprentice,  eh?' 

"Jacobs  looked  at  my  cap   and   epa\ilette,   and  gave   out 


A  SEA  STORY  43 

his  breath  in  a  whistle,  the  only  other  sign  of  aston- 
ishment being  that  he  let  go  his  unaccountable-looking 
piece  of  cord.  'Lord  bless  me,  Master  Ned!'  said  he — '1 
axes  pardon,  Lieutenant  Collins,  your  honor!'  'Glad  you 
know  me  this  time,  Bob,  my  lad,'  said  I,  looking  round — 
'and  a  comfortable  berth  you've  got  of  it,  I  dare  say.  But 
what  the  deuce  are  you  about  in  there  ?  You  have  n't  a  sav- 
age, too,  like  some  friends  of  yours  I  fell  in  with  a  short 
time  ago!  Or  perhaps  a  lion  or  a  tiger,  eh,  Jacobs?'  'No, 
no,  your  honor — lions  be  blowed !'  replied  he,  laughing, 
but  fiddling  with  his  hands  all  the  while,  and  standing 
between  me  and  the  room,  as  if  half  ashamed.  '  'Tis  only 
the  tiller-ropes  of  a  small  craft  I  am  left  in  charge  of, 
sir.  But  won't  ye  sit  down,  your  honor,  till  such  time  as 
my  old  'oomaii  comes  aboard  to  relieve  me,  sir  ?  Here  's  a 
cheer,  and  may  be  you  'd  make  so  free  for  to  take  a  pipe 
of  prime  Americans,  your  honor?'  'Let's  have  a  look 
into  your  cabin,  though,  Bob,  my  man,'  said  I,  curious  to 
know  what  was  the  secret;  when  all  at  once  a  tremendous 
squall  from  within  let  me  sufficiently  into  it.  The  old 
salt  had  been  rocking  the  cradle,  with  a  fine  little  fellow  of 
a  baby  in  it,  and  a  line  made  fast  to  keep  it  in  play 
when  he  served  the  shop.  'All  the  pitch  is  in  the  fire  now, 
your  honor,'  said  he,  looking  terribly  nonplussed ;  'I  've 
broached  him  to,  and  he 's  all  aback  till  his  mammy  gets 
a  hold  of  him.'  'A  good  pipe  the  little  rogue's  got,  though,' 
said  I:  'and  a  fine  child  he  is,  Jacobs — do  for  a  bo'sun 
yet.'  'Why,  yes,  sir,'  said  he,  rubbing  his  chin  with  a  grati- 
fied smile,  as  the  urchin  kicked,  threw  out  his  arms,  and 
roared  like  to  break  his  heart ;  'I  'in  thinking  he  's  a  sailor  all 
over,  by  natur',  as  one  may  say.  He  don't  like  a  calm 
no  more  nor  myself;  but  that's  the  odds  of  being  ashore, 
where  you  needs  to  keep  swinging  the  hammocks  by 
hand,  instead  of  havin'  it  done  for  you,  sir.'  In  the  midst 
of  the  noise,  however,  we  were  caught  by  the  sudden  ap- 
pearance of  Mistress  Jacobs  herself — a  good-looking  young- 
woman,  with  a  market-basket  full  of  bacon  and  greens,  and 
a  chubby  little  boy  holding  by  her  apron,  who  came  through 
the  shop.  The  first  thing  she  did  was  to  catch  up  the 
baby  out  of  the  cradle,  and  begin  hushing  it,  after  one  or 
two  side  glances  of  reproach  at  her  husband,  who  attempted 
to  cover  his  disgrace  by  saying,  'Betsy,  my  girl,  where 's 
your  manners?  why  don't  you  off  h^ts  to  the  leftenant? — 
it 's  my  wife,  your  honor.'  Mrs.  Jacobs  curtesied  twice 
very  respectfully,  though  not  particularly  fond  of  the  pro- 


44  THE  GREEN  HAND 

fession,  as  I  found  afterwarcis;  and  I  soon  quite  gained 
her  smiles  and  good  graces  by  praising  her  child,  with 
the  remark  that  he  was  too  pretty  ever  to  turn  out  a 
sailor;  for,  sharp  as  mothers  are  to  detect  this  sort  of 
flattery  to  anybody  else's  bantling,  you  always  find  it  takes 
wonderfully  with  respect  to  their  own.  Whenever  Jacobs  and 
I  were  left  to  ourselves,  I  struck  at  once  into  my  scheme — 
the  more  readily  for  feeling  I  had  the  weather  hand  of 
him  in  regard  of  his  late  appearance.  It  was  too  ridicu- 
lous, the  notion  of  one  of  the  best  foretopmen  that  ever 
passed  a  weather-earing  staying  at  home  to  rock  his  wife's 
cradle  and  attend  the  shop;  and  he  was  evidently  aware  of 
it  as  I  went  on.  It  was  a  little  selfish,  1  dare  say,  and  Mrs. 
Jacobs  would  perhaps  have  liked  me  none  the  better  for  it ; 
but  I  proposed  to  him  to  get  a  berth  in  the  Indiaman, 
sail  with  me  for  Bombay,  and  stand  by  for  a  foul  hitch 
in  something  or  other.  'Why,  sir/  said  he,  'it  shan't  be 
said  of  Bob  Jacobs  he  were  ever  the  man  to  hang  back 
where  a  matter  was  to  be  done  that  must  be  done.  I  does  n't 
see  the  whole  bearings  of  it  as  yet,  but  ownly  you  give 
the  orders,  sir,  and  I  '11  stick  to  'em.'  "T  is  a  long  stretch 
between  this  and  Bombay,  Jacobs',  said  I,  'and  plenty  of 
room  for  chances.'  'Ay,  ay,  sir,  no  doubt,'  said  he,  'your 
honor  can  talk  the  length  of  the  best  bower  cable.'  'More 
than  that,  Bob,  ray  lad,'  said  I,  'I  know  these  Company 
men ;  if  they  once  get  out  of  their  regular  jog,  they  're 
as  helpless  as  a  pig  adrift  on  a  grating;  and  before  they 
grow  used  to  sailing  out  of  convoy,  with  no  frigates  to 
whip  them  in,  depend  upon  it  Mother  Carey  will  have 
to  teach  them  a  new  trick  or  two.'  'Mayhap,  sir,'  put 
in  Jacobs,  doubtfully,  'the  best  thing  'ud  be  if  they  cast 
the  ship  away  altogether,  as  I  've  seen  done  myself  for 
the  matter  of  an  insurance.  Ye  know,  sir,  they  lets  it 
pass  at  Lloyd's  now  the  war  's  over,  seein'  it  brings  custom- 
ers to  the  underwriters,  if  so  be  ownly  it  don't  come  over 
often  for  the  profits.  Hows'ever  it  needs  a  good  seaman 
to  choose  his  leeshore  well,  no  doubt.'  'Oh !'  answered  I, 
laughing,  'but  the  chances  are,  all  hands  would  want  to 
be  Robinson  Crusoe  at  once !  No,  no — only  let 's  r:et  aboard, 
and  take  things  as  they  come.'  'What 's  the  ship's  name, 
sir?'  inquired  Jacobs,  sinking  his  voice,  and  looking  cau- 
tiously over  his  shoulder  toward  the  door.  'The  "Seringa- 
patam" — do  you  know  her?'  I  said.  'Ay,  ay,  sir,  well 
enough,'  said  he,  readily — 'a  lump  of  a  ship  she  is,  down 
off  Blackwall  in  the  stream,  with  two  more — country-built, 


A  SEA  STORY  45 

and  tumbles  home  rather  much  from  below  the  plank- 
sheer  for  a  sightly  craft,  besides  being  flat  in  the  eyes  of 
her,  and  round  in  the  counter,  just  where  she  should  n't,  sir. 
Them  Parchec  Bombay  shipwrights  does  clap  on  a  lot  of 
onchristien  flummeries  and  gilt  mouldings,  let  alone  quarter- 
galleries  fit  for  the  king's  castle !'  'In  short,  she  's  tea-wagon 
all  over,'  said  I,  'and  just  as  slow  and  as  leewardly,  to 
boot,  as  teak  can  make  her?'  'Pier  lines  is  not  that  bad, 
though,  your  honor,'  continued  Jacobs,  'if  you  just  knocked 
off  her  poop — and  she  'd  bear  a  deal  o'  beating  for  a  sea- 
boat.  They  've  got  a  smart  young  mate,  too ;  for  I  seed 
him  t'other  day  a-sending  up  the  yards,  and  now  she 's 
as  square  as  a  frigate,  all  ready  to  drop  down  river.'  The 
short  and  long  of  it  was,  that  I  arranged  with  my  old 
shipmate,  who  was  fully  bent  on  the  cruise,  whether  Mrs. 
Jacobs  should  approve  or  not,  that,  somehow  or  other,  we 
should  both  ship  our  hammocks  on  board  of  the  'Seringa- 
patam' — he  before  the  mast,  and  I  wherever  I  could  get.  On 
going  to  the  agent's,  however — which  I  did  as  soon  as  I 
could  change  my  uniform  for  plain  clothes — I  found,  to 
my  great  disappointment,  from  a  plan  of  the  accommoda- 
tions, that  not  only  were  the  whole  of  the  poop-cabins 
taken,  but  those  on  the  main-deck,  also.  Most  of  the  pas- 
sengers, I  ascertained,  were  ladies,  with  their  children  and 
nurses,  going  back  to  India,  and  raw  young  cadets,  with 
a  few  commercial  and  civilian  nondescripts;  there  were 
no  troops  or  officers,  arid  room  enough,  except  for  one 
gentleman  having  engaged  the  entire  poop,  at  an  immense 
expense,  for  his  own  use.  This  I,  of  course,  supposed  was 
the  nabob,  but  the  clerk  was  too  close  to  inform  me.  'You 
must  try  another  ship,  sir,'  said  he,  coolly,  as  he  shut  the 
book.  'Sorry  for  it,  but  we  have  another  booked  to  sail 
in  a  fortnight.  A  1,  sir;  far  finer  vessel — couple  of  hun- 
dred tons  larger — and  sails  faster.'  'You  be  hanged !'  mut- 
tered I,  walking  out;  and  a  short  time  after  I  was  on 
board.  The  stewards  told  me  as  much  again;  but  on  my 
slipping  a  guinea  into  the  fingers  of  one,  he  suddenly 
recollected  there  was  a  gentleman  in  stateroom  No.  14, 
starboard  side  of  the  main  skylight,  who,  being  alone, 
might  perhaps  be  inclined  to  take  a  chum,  if  I  dealt  with 
him  privately.  'Yankee,  sir,  he  is,'  said  the  steward,  by 
way  of  a  useful  hint.  However,  I  didn't  need  the  warning, 
at  sight  of  the  individual's  long  nose,  thin  lips,  and  saPow 
jawbones,  without  a  whisker  on  his  face,  and  his  shirt-collar 
turned  down,  as  he  sat  overhauling  his  traps  beside  the 


46  THE  GREEN  HAND 

carronade,  which  was  tethered  in  the  stateroom,  with  its 
muzzle  through  the  port.  He  looked  a  good  deal  like 
a  jockey  beside  his  horse;  or,  as  a  wit  of  a  schoolboy  cadet 
said  afterwards,  the  Boston  gentleman,  calling  himself  Daniel 
C.  Snout,  Esquire — like  Daniel  praying  in  the  lion's  den, 
and  afraid  it  might  turn  round  and  roar.  I  must  say 
the  idea  did  n't  quite  delight  me,  nor  the  sight  of  a  fearful 
quantity  of  baggage  which  was  stowed  up  against  the  bulk- 
head; but  after  introducing  myself  and  objecting  to  the 
first  few  offers,  I  at  last  concluded  a  bargain  with  the 
American  for  a  hundred  guineas,  provisions  exclusive,  which, 
he  remarked,  was  'considerable  low,  I  prognosticate,  mister!' 
'However,'  said  he,  'I  expect  you  're  a  conversationable  in- 
dividual a  little:  I  allowed  for  that,  you  know,  mister.  One 
can't  do  much  of  a  trade  at  sea — that 's  a  fact ;  and  I  cal- 
culate we  '11  swap  information  by  the  way.  I  'm  water-pruff, 
I  tell  you,  as  all  our  nation  is.  You  '11  not  settle  at  Bum- 
bay,  I  reckon,  mister?'  But  though  I  meant  to  pay  my 
new  messmate  in  my  own  coin  at  leisure  afterwards,  and 
be  as  frank  and  open  as  day  with  him — the  only  way  to 
meet  a  Yankee — I  made  off  at  present  as  fast  as  possible, 
to  bring  my  things  aboard,  resolving  to  sleep  at  Blackwall, 
and  then  to  stow  myself  out  of  sight  for  sick,  until  there 
was  somebody  to  take  off  the  edge  of  his  confounded  talk. 

"Xext  afternoon,  accordingly,  I  found  myself  once  more 
afloat,  the  Indiaman  dropping  down  with  the  first  breeze. 
The  day  after,  she  was  running  through  the  Downs  with  it 
pretty  strong  from  north-east,  a  fair  wind — the  pilot-boat 
snoring  off  close-hauled  to  windward,  with  a  white  spray  over 
her  nose;  and  the  three  dungaree  topsails  of  the  'Seringa- 
patam'  lifting  and  swelling,  as  yellow  as  gold,  over  her  white 
courses  in  the  blue  Channel  haze.  The  breeze  freshened  till 
she  rolled  before  it,  and  everything  being  topsyturvy  on 
deck,  the  lumber  in  the  way,  the  men  as  busy  as  bees 
setting  her  ship-shape — it  would  have  been  as  much  as  a 
passenger's  toes  were  worth  to  show  them  from  below;  so 
that  I  was  able  to  keep  by  myself,  just  troubling  my  sea- 
manship so  much  as  to  stand  clear  of  the  work.  Enjoy  it 
I  did,  too ;  the  first  sniff  of  the  weather  was  almost  enough 
to  make  me  forget  what  I  was  there  for.  I  was  every 
now  on  then  on  the  point  of  fisting  a  rope,  and  singing 
out  to  the  men;  till  at  length  I  thought  it  more  com- 
fortable, even  for  me,  to  run  up  the  mizzen  shrouds  when 
everybody  was  forward,  where  I  stowed  myself  out  of  sight 
in  the  cross-trees. 


A  SEA  STORY  47 

"About  dusk,  while  I  was  waiting  to  slip  down,  a  stronger 
puff  than  ordinary  made  them  clew  up  the  mizzeii-royal 
from  deck,  which  I  took  upon  myself  to  furl  off-hand — 
quick  enough  to  puzzle  a  couple  of  boys  that  came  aloft  for 
the  purpose,  especially  as,  in  the  meantime,  I  had  got  down 
upon  the  topsail-yardarm  out  of  their  notice.  When  they 
got  on  deck  again,  I  heard  the  little  fellows  telling  some 
of  the  men,  in  a  terrified  sort  of  way,  how  the  mizzen-royal 
had  either  stowed  itself,  or  else  it  was  Dick  Wilson's  ghost, 
that  fell  off  the  same  yard  last  voyage — more  by  token,  he 
used  always  to  make  fast  the  gaskets  just  that  fashion.  At 
night,  however,  the  wind  having  got  lighter,  with  half 
moonlight,  there  was  a  muster  of  some  passengers  on  deck, 
all  sick  and  miserable,  as  they  tried  to  keep  their  feet,  and 
have  the  benefit  of  air — the  Yankee  being  as  bad  as 
the  worst.  I  thought  it  wouldn  't  do  for  me  to  be  altogether 
free,  and  accordingly  stuck  fast  by  Mr.  Snout,  with  my 
head  over  the  quarter-deck  bulwarks,  looking  into  his  face, 
and  talking  away  to  him,  asking  all  sorts  of  questions  about 
what  was  good  for  sea-sickness,  then  giving  a  groan  to 
prevent  myself  laughing,  when  the  spray  splashed  up  upon 
his  'water-pruff  face,  he  responding  to  it  as  Sancho  Panza 
did  to  Don  Quixote,  when  the  one  examined  the  other's 
mouth  after  a  potion.  All  he  could  falter  out  was,  how 
he  wondered  1  could  speak  at  all  when  sick.  'Oh!  oh 
dear !'  said  I,  with  another  howl.  'Yes — 't  is  merely  because 
I  can't  think!  And  I  daresay  you  are  thinking  so  much 
you  can't  talk — the  sea  is  so  full  of  meditation,  as  Lord 

Byron oh — oh — this  water  will  be  the  death  of  me!' 

'I  feel  as  if — the  whole — tarnation  Atlantic  was — inside  of 
my  bowels!'  gasped  he  through  his  nostrils.  'Oh!'  I  could 
not  help  putting  in,  as  the  ship  and  Mr.  Snout  both  gave 
a  heave  up,  'and  coming  out  of  you!' 

"During  all  this  time  T  had  felt  so  sure  of  my  ground  as 
scarcely  to  trouble  myself  about  the  Bengal  judge  and  his 
treasure  of  a  daughter;  only  in  the  midst  of  the  high 
spirits  brought  up  by  the  breeze,  T  hugged  myself  now 
and  then  at  the  thought  of  their  turning  out  by  degrees 
as  things  got  settled.  Nobody  would  suspect  the  raw  chap 
I  looked,  with  smooth  hair  and  a  high  collar,  of  any  par- 
ticular cue:  I  must  say  there  was  a  little  vanity  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  but  I  kept  thinking  more  and  more  how 
snug  and  quietly  I  'd  enjoy  all  that  went  on,  sailing  on 
one  tack  with  the  passengers  and  the  old  nabob  himself, 
and  slipping  off  upon  the  other  when  I  could  come  near 


48  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  charming  young  Lota.  The  notion  looks  more  like 
what  some  scamp  of  a  reefer,  cruising  ashore,  would  have 
hit  upon,  than  suits  my  taste  nowadays;  but  the  cockpit 
had  put  a  spice  of  the  imp  in  me,  which  I  never  got  clear 
of  till  this  very  voyage,  as  you'll  see,  if  we  get  through 
the  log  of  it. 

"The  first  time  I  went  down  into  the  cuddy  was  that 
evening  to  tea,  where  all  was  at  sixes  and  sevens  like  the 
decks;  the  lamps  ill-trimmed,  stewards  out  of  the  way,  and 
a  few  lads  trying  to  bear  up  against  their  stomachs  by 
the  help  of  brandy  and  biscuits.  The  main  figure  was  a 
jolly-looking  East  Indian,  an  indigo-planter,  as  he  turned  out, 
with  a  bald  forehead,  a  hook  nose,  and  his  gills  covered 
with  white  whiskers  that  gave  him  all  the  cut  of  a  cocka- 
too. He  had  his  brown  servant  running  about  on  every 
hand,  and  being  an  old  stager,  did  his  best  to  cheer  up 
the  rest;  but  nothing  I  saw  showed  the  least  sign  of  the 
party  I  looked  after.  I  was  sure  I  ought  to  have  made 
out  something  of  them  by  this  time,  considering  the  stir 
such  a  grandee  as  Sir  Charles  Hyde  would  cause  aboard; 
in  fact,  there  did  n't  seem  to  be  many  passengers  in  her, 
and  I  began  to  curse  the  lying  scoundrel  of  a  kitmagar  for 
working  'Tom  Cox's  traverse'  on  me,  and  myself  for  being 
a  greater  ass  than  T  'd  fancied.  Indeed,  I  heard  the  planter 
mention  by  chance  that  Sir  Charles  Hyde,  the  district 
judge,  had  come  home  last  voyage  from  India  in  this  very 
'Seringapatam,'  which,  no  doubt,  I  thought,  put  the  Mo- 
hammedan rascal  up  to  his  trick. 

"I  was  making  up  my  mind  to  an  Indian  trip,  and  the 
pure  pleasure  of  Daniel  Catoson  Snout,  Esquire's  com- 
pany for  two  blessed  months,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  felt 
the  ship  bring  her  wind  a-quarter,  with  a  furious  plunge 
of  the  Channel  water  along  her  bends,  that  made  every 
landsman's  bowels  yearn  as  if  he  felt  it  gurgle  through  him. 
One  young:  fellow,  more  drunk  than  sick,  gave  a  wild 
bolt  right  over  the  cuddy  table,  striking  out  with  both 
arms  and  legs  as  if  afloat,  so  as  to  sweep  half  of  the  glasses 
down  on  the  floor.  The  planter,  who  was  three  cloths  in  the 
wind  himself,  looked  down  upon  him  with  a  comical  air 
of  pity  as  soon  as  he  had  got  cushioned  upon  the  wreck. 
'My  dear  fellow,'  said  he,  'what  do  you  feel — eh?'  'Feel, 
you — old  blackguard !'  stammered  the  griffin,  'I  feel  every- 
thing! Goes  through — through  my  vitals  as  if — I  was  a  con 
— founded  whale!  C — can't  stand  it !'  'You  Ve  drunk  your- 
self aground,  my  boy!'  sung  out  the  indigo-man;  'stuck 
fast  on  the  coral — eh  ?  Never  mind,  we  '11  float  you  off, 


A  SEA  STORY  49 

only  don't  flounder  that  way  with  your  tail! — by  George, 
you  scamp,  you've  ruined  my  toe — oh  dear!'  I  left  the 
planter  hopping  round  on  one  pin,  and  holding  the  gouty 
one  in  his  hand,  betwixt  laughing  and  crying;  on  deck  I 
found  the  floating  Nab  Light  bearing  broad  on  our  lee- 
bow,  with  Cumberland  Fort  glimmering  to  windward,  and 
the  half-moon  setting  over  the  Isle  of  Wight,  while  we 
stood  up  for  Portsmouth  Harbor.  The  old  captain,  and 
most  of  the  officers,  were  on  the  poop  for  the  first  time, 
though  as  stiff  and  uncomfortable  from  the  sort  of  land- 
sickness  and  lumber-qualms  that  sailors  feel  till  things  are 
in  their  places,  as  the  landsmen  did  until  things  were  out 
of  them.  The  skipper  walked  the  weather  side  by  him- 
self and  said  nothing;  the  smart  chief  officer  sent  two 
men,  one  after  another,  from  the  wheel  for  'cows'  that 
did  n't  know  where  their  tails  were ;  and  as  for  the  middies, 
they  seemed  to  know  when  to  keep  out  of  the  way.  In  a 
little,  the  spars  of  the  men-of-war  at  Spithead  'were  to  be 
seen  as  we  rose  on  a  sea;  before  the  end  of  the  first  watch, 
we  were  running  outside  the  Spit  Buoy,  which  was  nodding 
and  plashing  with  the  tide  in  the  last  slant  of  moonshine, 
till  at  last  we  rounded  to,  and  down  went  the  anchor  in  five 
fathoms,  off  the  Motherbank.  What  the  Indiaman  wanted 
at  Portsmouth  I  did  n't  know ;  but,  meantime,  I  had  given 
up  all  hopes  of  the  nabob  being  in  her,  and  the  only 
question  with  me  was,  whether  I  should  take  the  opportunity 
of  giving  all  hands  the  slip  here,  even  though  I  left  my 
Yankee  friend  disconsolate,  and  a  clear  gainer  by  dollars 
beyond  count. 

"Early  next  morning  there  were  plenty  of  wherries  looking 
out  for  fares;  so,  as  the  Indiaman  was  not  to  sail  before 
the  night-ebb,  when  the  breeze  would  probably  spring  up 
fair  again,  I  hailed  one  of  them  to  go  ashore  at  the  point, 
for  a  quiet  stroll  over  Southsea  Common,  where  I  meant  to 
overhaul  the  whole  bearings  of  the  case,  and  think  if  it 
were  n't  better  to  go  home,  and  wait  the  Admiralty's  pleas- 
ure for  a  ship.  I  had  n't  even  seen  anything  of  Jacobs, 
and  the  whole  hotel-keeping  ways  of  the  Indiaman  be- 
gan to  disgust  me,  or  else  I  should  have  at  once  decided 
to  take  the  chance  of  seeing  Lota  Hyde  somehow  or  other 
in  India;  but,  again,  one  could  scarcely  endure  the  notion 
of  droning  on  in  a  frigate  without  so  much  as  a  Brest 
lugger  to  let  drive  at.  It  was  about  six  o'clock;  the  morn- 
ing-gun from  the  guard-ship  off  the  dockyard  came  booming 
down  through  the  harbor,  the  blue  offing  shone  like  silver, 


50  THE  GREEN  HAND 

arid  the  green  tideway  sparkled  on  every  surge,  up  to  where 
they  were  flashing  and  poppling  on  the  copper  of  the  frigates 
at  Spithead.  I  noticed  them  crossing  yards  and  squaring; 
the  farthest  out  hove  up  anchor,  loosed  fore-topsail,  cast 
her  head  to  starboard,  and  fired  a  gun  as  she  stood  slowly 
out  to  sea  under  all  sail,  with  a  light  air  freshening 
abeam.  The  noble  look  of  her  almost  reconciled  me  of 
itself  to  the  service,  were  it  for  the  mere  sake  of  having 
a  share  in  driving  such  a  craft  between  wind  and  water. 
Just  then,  however,  an  incident  turned  up  in  spite  of  me, 
which  I  certainly  olid  n't  expect,  and  which  had  more,  even 
than  I  reckoned  at  the  time,  to  do  with  my  other  adventure; 
seeing  that  it  made  me,  both  then  and  afterwards,  do  the 
direct  opposite  of  what  I  meant  to  do,  and  both  times  put 
a  new  spoke  in  my  wheel,  as  we  say  at  sea  here. 

"I  had  observed  a  seventy-four,  the  'Stratton,'  lying  op- 
posite the  Spit  Buoy,  on  board  of  which,  as  the  waterman 
told  me,  a  court-martial  had  been  held  the  day  before, 
where  they  broke  a  first  lieutenant  for  insulting  his  cap- 
tain. Both  belonged  to  one  of  the  frigates:  the  captain 
I  had  seen,  and  heard  of  as  the  worst  tyrant  in  the  navy; 
his  ship  was  called  'a  perfect  hell  afloat';  that  same  week 
one  of  the  boys  had  tried  to  drown  himself  alongside,  and 
a  corporal  of  marines,  after  coming  ashore  and  drinking  a 
glass  with  his  sweetheart,  had  coolly  walked  down  to  the  point, 
jumped  in  between  two  boats  and  the  jetty,  and  kept  him- 
self under  water  till  he  was  dead.  The  lieutenant  had 
been  dismissed  the  service,  and  as  I  recognized  the  name, 
I  wondered  whether  it  could  actually  be  my  schoolfellow, 
Tom  Westwood,  as  gallant  a  fellow  and  as  merry  as  ever 
broke  biscuit.  Two  sailboats,  one  from  around  the  'Strat- 
ton's'  quarter,  and  the  other  from  over  by  Gosport,  steer- 
ing on  the  same  tack  for  Southsea,  turned  my  attention  as 
I  sauntered  down  to  the  beach.  The  bow  of  the  nearest 
wherry  grounded  on  the  stones  as  I  began  to  walk  quicker 
towards  the  town-gates,  chiefly  because  I  was  pretty  ready 
for  an  early  breakfast  at  the  old  Blue  Posts,  and  also  be- 
cause I  had  a  slight  notion  of  what  these  gentlemen  wanted 
on  Southsea  Beach  at  odd  hours.  Out  they  jumped,  how- 
ever— one  man  in  naval  undress,  another  a  captain  in  full 
fig,  the  third  a  surgeon — coming  right  athwart  my  course 
to  bring  me  to.  The  first  I  almost  at  once  remembered 
for  the  notorious  captain  of  the  'Orestes,'  or  'N'Oreste,' 
as  the  midshipmen  called  her,  from  her  French  build  and 
her  character  together.  'Hallo,  you  sir!'  said  the  other 


THE   SECONDS   GAVE    THE    WORD   TO    EACH    OTHER,    AND    DROPPED   TWO 
WHITE    HANDKERCHIEFS    AT   ONCE. 


A  SEA  STORY  51 

captain,  decidedly,  'you  must  stand  still.'  'Indeed!'  said  I; 
'and  why  so,  if  you  please?'  'Since  youare  here,wedon't  intend 
allowing  you  to  pass  for  some  few  minutes.'  'And  what  if  I 
should  do  I  choose,  sir?'  I  asked.  'If  you  stir  two  steps, 
sir,  I  shall  shoot  you,'  replied  the  captain,  who  was  one 
of  the  bullying  school.  'Oh,  very  well,'  I  said,  rather  con- 
founded by  hiis  impertinence,  'then  I  shall  stay';  and  I 
accordingly  stood  stock-still,  with  my  arms  folded,  until  the 
other  boat  landed  a  party  of  two.  They  were  in  plain 
clothes;  nor  did  I  give  them  any  particular  heed  till  the 
seconds  had  stationed  their  men,  when  the  captain  of  the 
'Orestes'  had  his  back  to  me,  and  his  antagonist  stood  di- 
rectly facing.  As  his  pale  resolved  features  came  out 
before  me  with  the  morning  sun  on  them,  his  lips  together, 
and  his  nostrils  large,  I  recognized  my  old  friend  West- 
wood.  The  captain  had  broke  him  the  day  before,  and  now 
had  accepted  his  challenge,  being  a  known  dead  shot,  while 
the  lieutenant  had  never  fired  a  bullet  in  cold  blood;  there 
was,  no  doubt,  a  settled  purpose  in  the  tyrant  to  crush 
the  first  man  that  had  dared  to  thwart  his  will.  Westwood's 
second  came  forward  and  mentioned  to  the  other  that  his 
friend  was  still  willing  to  withdraw  the  words  spoken 
in  first  heat,  and  would  accordingly  fire  into  the  air. 
'Coward!'  shouted  the  captain  of  the  'Orestes'  immediately, 
'I  shall  shoot  you  through  the  heart!'  'Sir,'  said  I  to  his 
second,  'I  will  not  look  on;  and  if  that  gentleman  is  shot, 
I  will  be  witness  against  you  both  as  murderers.'  I  dropped 
down  behind  a  stone  out  of  the  line  of  fire,  and  to  keep 
my  eyes  off  the  devilish  piece  of  work,  though  my  blood 
boiled  to  knock  the  fellow  down  that  I  was  speaking  to. 
Another  minute,  and  the  suspense  was  too  great  for  me 
to  help  looking  up.  Just  at  that  moment  I  saw  how  set 
Westwood's  face  was;  he  was  watching  his  enemy  with  an 
eye  that  showed  to  me  what  the  other's  must  be — seeking 
for  his  life.  The  seconds  gave  the  word  to  each  other  in 
the  middle,  and  dropped  two  white  handkerchiefs  at  once  with 
their  hands  together;  I  caught  the  flash  of  Westwood's 
pistol,  when,  to  my  astonishment,  I  saw  the  captain  of 
the  'Orestes'  next  moment  jerk  up  his  arm  betwixt  me  and 
the  sky,  fire  in  the  air,  and  slowly  fall  back — he  was  dead! 
— shot  through  the  heart.  One  glance  at  his  face  gave  you 
a  notion  of  the  devilish  meaning  he  had  had;  but  what 
was  my  surprise  when  his  second  walked  up  to  Westwood, 
and  said  to  him,  'Sir,  you  are  the  murderer  of  Captain 
Buncombe — my  friend  fired  in  the  air  as  you  proposed.' 


52  THE  GREEN  HAND 

'You  are  mistaken,  sir,'  answered  Westwood,  coldly;  'Captain 
Duncombe  sought  my  life,  and  I  have  used  the  privilege 
of  self-defence.'  'The  surgeon  is  of  my  opinion,'  said  the 
other;  'and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  cannot  allow  you 
to  depart.'  'I  shall  give  myself  up  to  the  authorities  at 
once,'  said  Westwood.  'We  have  only  your  word  for  that, 
which  I  must  be  permitted,  in  such  a  case,  to  doubt,'  replied 
the  captain,  whose  evident  wish  it  was  to  detain  Westwood 
by  force  or  threats  while  he  sent  off  his  surgeon.  The  worst 
of  it  was,  as  I  now  found,  that  since  the  court-martial  and 
the  challenge,  an  Admiralty  order  had  arrived,  in  consider- 
ation of  several  gallant  acts  during  the  war,  as  well  as  private 
representation,  restoring  him  to  the  service;  so  that  he  had, 
in  fact,  called  out  and  shot  his  superior  officer.  As  for 
the  charge  now  brought  forward,  it  was  too  absurd  for 
any  to  believe  it,  unless  from  rage  or  prejudice;  the  case 
was  bad  enough,  at  any  rate,  without  it. 

"In  the  meantime  I  had  exchanged  a  word  or  two  with 
Westwood's  friend ;  after  which,  lifting  a  second  pistol  which 
lay  on  the  sand,  I  went  up  to  the  captain.  'Sir,'  said  I, 
'you  used  the  freedom,  a  little  ago,  of  forcing  me  into  your 
concerns,  and  I  have  seen  the  end  of  it.  I  have  now  got 
to  tell  you,  having  watched  your  conduct,  that  either  you 
must  submit  to  be  made  fast  here  for  a  bit,  else,  by  the 
God  that  made  me,  I  '11  shoot  you  through  the  head.'  The 
captain  looked  at  me,  his  surgeon  sidled  up  to  him;  and 
being  a  man  near  my  own  size,  he  suddenly  tried  to  wrench 
the  pistol  out  of  my  hands.  However,  I  had  him  the  next 
moment  under  my  knee,  while  Westwood's  second  secured  the 
little  surgeon,  and  took  a  few  round  sea-turns  about  his  wrists 
and  ankles  with  a  neckerchief.  My  companion  then  gave 
me  a  hand  to  do  the  same  with  his  superior  officer — the  medico 
all  the  time  singing  out  like  a  bull,  and  the  captain  threat- 
ening— while  the  dead  body  law  stark  and  stiff  behind  us, 
the  eyes  wide,  the  head  down,  and  the  breast  up,  the  hand 
clinching  a  pistol,  just  as  he  had  fallen.  Westwood  stood 
quite  unconscious  of  everything  we  did,  only  he  seemed  to 
be  watching  the  knees  drawn  up  as  they  stiffened,  and  the 
sand-flies  gathering  about  the  mouth.  'Shall  we  clap  a  stop- 
per between  their  teeth  ?'  said  the  second  to  me — he  had  beem 
at  sea,  but  who  he  was  I  never  knew — 'the  surgeon  will  be 
heard  on  the  walls,  he  bellows  so !'  'Never  mind,'  said  I, 
'we  '11  just  drop  them  beyond  tide-mark — the  lee  of  the  stones 
yonder.'  In  fact,  from  the  noise  the  tide  was  making,  I  ques 
tion  if  the  shots  could  have  been  heard  even  by  the  watermen, 


A  SEA  STORY  53 

who  had  prudently  sheered  out  of  sight  round  a  point.  I 
could  n't  help  looking,  when  we  had  done  this,  from  the  cap- 
tain's body  to  his  own  frigate,  as  she  was  sluing  round  head 
on  to  us,  at  single  anchor,  to  the  turn  of  tide,  with  her  buoy 
dancing  on  the  brisk  blue  sweep  of  water,  and  her  figure-head 
shining  in  the  sunlight.  As  soon  as  we  had  covered  over  the 
corpse  with  tangle,  Westwood  started  as  if  we  had 
taken  something  away  from  him,  or  freed  him  of  a  spell. 
'Westwood!'  said  I,  laying  my  hand  on  his  shoulder,  'you 
must  come  along  with  me.'  He  said  nothing,  but  followed 
us  quietly  round  to  the  wherries,  where  I  told  the  watermen 
that  the  other  party  had  gone  a  different  way  to  keep  clear, 
and  we  wanted  them  to  pull  for  Gosport.  At  Gosport  we  had 
Westwood  rigged  out  in  black  clothes,  his  hair  cropped,  and 
whiskers  shaved  off — as  I  thought  it  the  fittest  thing  for  his 
case,  and  what  he  could  best  carry  out,  to  go  aboard  of  the 
Indiaman  with  me  as  if  he  were  a  missionary.  Poor  fellow! 
he  did  n't  well  know  what  he  was.  So,  having  waited  till 
dusk,  to  let  the  watermen  lose  our  track,  and  his  friend  having 
posted  off  for  Dover,  he  and  I  both  got  safe  over  to  the 
'Seringapatam,'  where  I  had  him  stowed  in  the  first  con- 
venient stateroom  I  could  find.  I  had  actually  forgot, 
through  the  excitement,  all  about  having  missed  my  first 
chase;  from  one  hour  to  another  I  kept  watching  the  tide- 
marks  ashore,  and  the  dog-vane  on  the  ship's  quarter,  all 
impatience  to  hear  the  word  given  for  'all  hands  up  anchor,' 
and  hoping  our  worthy  friends  on  Southsea  Beach  were  still 
lying  within  hearing  of  the  Channel  flood.  At  last  the  order 
did  come ;  round  went  the  capst.  .1  merrily  enough,  till  she  had 
hove  short  and  up  with  fore-topsail  set;  the  anchor  was  catted, 
and  off  went  the  lumbering  old  craft  through  the  Solent  about 
midnight,  before  a  fine  rattling  breeze,  in  company  with  six 
or  seven  others,  all  running  for  the  Needles.  They  were, 
loosing  the  Indiaman's  royals  when  I  heard  a  gun  from  the 
guardship  in  harbor;  and  a  little  after  up  went  a  rocket, 
signalling  to  some  frigate  or  other  at  Spithead;  away  they 
kept  at  it,  with  lights  from  the  telegraph  to  her  masthead, 
for  several  minutes.  'All 's  up !'  thought  I,  'and  both  West- 
wood  and  myself  are  in  for  it !' 

"Next  morning  at  daybreak,  accordingly,  no  sooner  did  the 
dawn  serve  to  show  us  Portland  Light  going  out  on  the 
weather  quarter,  with  a  whole  fleet  of  Channel  craft  and 
Mediterranean  brigs  about  us,  we  surging  through  it  as  fast 
as  the  Indiaman  could  go — than  there  was  a  fine  forty-four 
standing  off  and  on  right  in  our  course,  in  fact  the  very 


54  THE  GREEN  HAND 

identical  'Orestes'  herself!  She  picked  us  out  in  a  moment — 
bore  up,  stood  across  our  weather-bow,  and  hailed.  'What 
ship  's  that  ?'  said  the  first  luff  in  her  mizzen  rigging. 

"  'The  "Seringapatam,"  Honorable  Company's  ship,  Captain 
Williamson!'  sung  out  our  first  officer,  with  his  cap  off. 
'Heave  to,  till  I  send  a  boat  aboard  of  you,'  hailed  the  naval 
man,  and  there  we  bobbed  to  each  other  with  mainyards 
backed.  In  a  few  minutes  a  master's  mate  with  gig's  crew 
was  under  our  lee-quarter,  and  the  mate  came  on  deck. 
'Sir/  said  he,  'the  Port  Admiral  will  thank  you  to  deliver 
these  despatches  for  Sir  Charles  Hyde,  who  I  believe  is 
aboard.'  'Certainly,  sir,'  said  the  first  officer,  'they  shall 
be  given  to  him  in  an  hour's  time.' 

"  'Good  morning,  and  a  fine  voyage,'  said  the  master's 
mate  politely;  and  I  took  the  occasion  of  asking  if  Captain 
Buncombe  were  on  board  the  'Orestes.'  'No,  sir,'  answered 
the  midshipman,  'he  happens  to  be  ashore  at  present.'  I 
have  seldom  felt  so  relieved  as  when  I  saw  the  frigate  haul 
round  her  mainyard,  and  go  sweeping  off  to  leeward,  while 
we  resumed  our  course.  By  noon  we  had  sunk  the  land  about 
Start  Point,  with  a  breeze  which  it  was  no  use  wasting  at  that 
season  to  take  'departures';  and  as  the  afternoon  set  in 
hazy,  we  were  soon  out  of  sight  of  Old  England  for  good. 
For  my  part,  I  was  bound  eastward  at  last  with  a  witness, 
and,  like  a  young  bear,  again  'all  my  troubles  before  me.' 

"There  is  two  bells,  though,"  interrupted  the  narrator, 
starting.  "Let  us  see  what  sort  of  night  it  is  before  the  ladies 
retire." 


A  SEA  STORY  55 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  evening  after  that  in  which  the  commander  of  the 
''Gloucester"  Indiaman  introduced  his  adventures,  nearly  the 
same  party  met  on  the  poop  to  hear  them  continued. 

"Well  then,"  began  Captain  Collins,  leaning  back  against 
a  stanchion  of  the  quarter-rail,  with  folded  arms,  legs  crossed, 
and  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  weather-leech  of  the  mizzen-topsail 
to  collect  his  thoughts;  "well  then,  try  to  fancy  the  'Seringa- 
patam,'  in  chase  of  the  'Gloucester';  and  if  I  do  use  a  few 
extra  sea-terms,  I  consider  the  ladies  good  enough  sailors 
for  them  already.  At  any  rate,  just  throw  a  glance  aloft  now 
and  then,  and  our  good  old  lady  will  explain  herself;  to  her 
own  sex,  she  ought  to  be  as  good  as  a  dictionary,  with  signs 
for  the  hard  words ! 

"The  second  day  out  we  had  the  wind  more  from  seaward, 
which  broke  up  the  haze  into  bales  of  cloud,  and  away  they 
went  rolling  in  for  the  Bay  of  Biscay ;  with  a  longer  wave  and 
darker  water,  and  the  big  old  Indiaman  surged  over  it  as  easily 
as  might  be,  the  blue  breeze  gushing  right  into  her  main-tack 
through  the  heave  of  the  following  seas,  and  the  tail  of  the 
trade-wind  flying  high  above  her  trucks  in  shreds  and  patches. 
Things  got  more  ship-shape  on  deck;  anchor-flukes  brought 
in-board  on  the  head-rail,  and  cables  stowed  away — the  very 
best  sign  you  can  have  of  being  clear  of  the  land.  The  first 
officer,  as  they  called  him,  was  a  good-looking  fellow,  that 
thought  no  small-beer  of  himself,  with  his  glossy  blue  jacket 
and  Company's  buttons,  white  trousers,  and  a  gold  thread 
round  his  cap ;  he  had  it  stuck  askew  to  show  how  his  hair  was 
brushed;  and  changed  his  boots  every  time  he  came  on  deck. 
Still  he  looked  like  a  sailor,  if  but  for  the  East-India  brown 
on  his  face,  and  there  was  no  mistake  about  his  knowing  how 
to  set  a  sail,  trim  yards,  or  put  the  ship  about;  so  that  the 
stiff  old  skipper  left  a  great  deal  to  him,  besides  trusting  him 
for  a  first-rate  navigator  that  had  learned  head-work  at  a 
naval  school.  The  crew  were  to  be  seen  all  mustering  before 
tea-time  in  the  dog-watch,  with  their  feet  just  seen  under  the 
foot  mat  of  the  fore-course,  like  actors  behind  a  playhouse 
curtain — men  that  I  warrant  you  had  seen  every  country 
under  heaven  amongst  them — as  private  as  possible,  and 
ready  to  enjoy  their  pots  of  tea  upon  the  forecastle,  as  well 
as  their  talk. 

"However,  all  this  was  nothing  to  me,  as  I  saw  no  sign  of 


56  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  passengers  I  had  counted  on.  I  could  do  little  for  poor 
Westwood  but  leave  him  to  mope  below,  over  his  own 
thoughts. 

"If  the  Indian  judge  really  chanced  to  be  on  board  alter 
all,  he  evidently  fought  shy  of  company,  and  perhaps  meant 
to  have  his  own  mess-table  under  the  poop  as  long  as  the  voy- 
age lasted ;  scarcely  any  of  the  ladies  had  apparently  got  their 
sea-qualms  over  yet,  and,  for  all  I  knew,  she  might  not  be  with 
him,  even  if  he  were  there ;  or,  if  she  were,  her  father  seemed 
quite  Turk  enough  to  keep  her  boxed  up  with  jalousie-blinds, 
Calcutta  fashion,  and  give  her  a  walk  in  the  middle  watch, 
with  the  poop  tabooed  till  morning.  The  jolly,  red-faced  in- 
digo-planter was  the  only  one  that  tried  to  get  up  anything 
like  spirit  at  the  table;  indeed,  he  would  have  scraped  ac- 
quaintance with  me,  if  I  had  been  in  a  mood  for  it ;  all  I  did 
was  to  say  'Yes'  and  'No,'  and  to  take  wine  with  him.  'Poor 
fellow !'  said  he,  turning  to  three  or  four  of  the  cadets,  that 
stuck  by  him  like  pilot-fish  to  an  old  shark,  'he's  thinking 
of  his  mother  at  home,  I  daresay.'  The  foo^  thought  this 
was  meant  for  a  joke,  and  began  to  laugh.  'Why  you 
unfledged  griffins  you,'  said  the  planter,  'what  d'ye  see  to 
nicker  at,  like  so  many  jackals  in  a  trap  ?  D'ye  suppose  one 
thinks  the  less  of  a  man  for  having  a  heart  to  be  sick  in,  as 
well  as  a  stomach — eh  ?'  'Oh,  don't  speak  of  it,  Mr.  Rollock !' 
said  one.  'Come,  come,  old  boy,'  said  another,  with  a  white 
moustache  on  his  lip,  '  'twon't  do  for  you  to  go  the  sentimen- 
tal, you  know.'  'Capsize  my  main-spanker,  'tis  too  funny, 
though,'  put  in  a  fellow  who  wore  a  glazed  hat  on  deck,  and 
put  down  all  the  ropes  with  numbers  on  paper,  as  soon  as  he 
had  done  being  sick.  The  planter  leaned  back  in  his  chair, 
looked  at  them  coolly,  and  burst  out  a-laughing.  'Catch  me 
ever  "going  home"  again,'  said  he.  'Of  all  the  absurd 
occasions  for  impudence  with  the  egg-shell  on  its  head 
coming  out,  hang  me  if  these  fifteen  thousand  miles  of  in- 
fernal sea-water  ain't  the  worst.  India  for  ever! — that's  the 
place  to  try  a  man.  He 's  either  sobered  or  gets  room  to  work 
there;  and  just  wait,  my  fine  fellows,  till  I  see  you  on  the 
Custom-house  Bunda  at  Bombay,  or  setting  off  up  country — 
you  're  all  of  you  the  very  food  for  sircars  and  coolies.  That 
quiet  lad  there,  now,  soft  as  he  looks' — meaning  me — 'I  can 
tell  by  his  eye  he  won't  be  long  a  griff — he  '11  do  something. 
I  tell  you  what,  as  soon  as  he's  tasted  his  first  mango-fish, 
he'll  understand  the  country.  Why,  sir,'  said  he  again, 
smacking  his  lips,  '  'tis  worth  the  voyage  of  itself — you  begin 
a  new  existence  so  to  speak.  I  '11  be  bound  all  this  lot  o' 


A  SEA  STORY  57 

water  don't  contain  one  single  mango-fish.  Remember,  boys, 
I  promised  you  all  a  regular  blow-out  of  mango-fish,  and 
florican  with  bread-sauce,  whenever  you  can  get  across  to 
Chuckbully  Factory.'  'Blow,  good  breeze,  then;  blow  away 
the  main  jib!'  said  the  nautical  young  gentleman;  'I'll  join 
you,  old  fellow!'  'Not  the  best  way  to  bring  it  about 
though,'  said  the  indigo-planter,  good-naturedly,  not  knowing 
but  there  was  such  a  sail  on  the  ship. 

"The  yellow  setting  sun  was  striking  over  the  starboard 
quarter-boat,  and  the  Bay  of  Biscay  lay  broad  down  to  lee- 
ward for  a  view — a  couple  of  large  craft,  with  all  studding- 
sails  set  before  the  wind,  making  for  land,  far  enough  off  to 
bring  their  canvas  in  a  piece,  and  begin  to  look  blue  with  the 
air — one  like  a  milk-woman  with  pitchers  and  a  hoop;  the 
other  like  a  girl  carrying  a  big- bucketful  of  water,  and  lean- 
ing the  opposite  way  to  steady  herself.  There  was  one  far  to 
north-east,  too,  no  more  than  a  white  speck  in  the  gray  sky; 
and  the  land-cloud  went  up  over  it  into  so  many  sea-lions' 
heads,  all  looking  out  of  their  manes.  The  children  clapped 
their  hands  and  laughed;  and  the  ladies  talked  about  the 
vessels,  and  thought  they  saw  land — Spain  or  the  Pyrenees, 
perhaps.  However,  it  was  n't  long  before  my  American  friend 
Snout  caught  sight  of  me  in  the  midst  of  his  meditations,  as 
he  turned  bolt  round  on  his  toes  to  hurry  aft  again.  'The 
fact  is,  mister,'  said  he,  'I  'm  riled  a  little  at  the  'tarnation 
pride  of  you  Britishers.  There  now,'  said  he,  pointing  at  the 
blaze  of  the  sun  to  westward,  with  his  chin,  'there  's  a  con- 
solation. I  calculate  the  sun  's  just  over  Noo-York,  which  I 
expect  to  give  you  old  country  folks  considerable  pain.' 

"  'No  doubt,'  said  I,  with  a  sigh ;  'one  can't  help  thinking 
of  a  banker  run  off  with  ever  so  much  English  gold.'  'You  're 
a  sensible  chap,  you  are.  It 's  a  right-down  asylum  for 
oppressed  Europains — that  can't  be  denied.'  'And  Africans, 
too,'  I  put  in.  'Indy,  now,'  said  he;  'I  reckon  there's  a  sight 
of  dollars  made  in  that  country — you  don't  s'pose  I  'm  goin' 
out  there  for  nothing?  We'll  just  take  it  out  o'  your  hand? 
yet,  mister.  I  don't  ought  to  let  you  into  the  scheme  till  I 
know  you  better,  you  see;  but  I  expect  to  want  a  sort  o' 
company  got  up  before  we  land.  There  's  one  of  your  nabobs 
now  came  into  the  ship  at  Possmouth,  with  a  whole  tail  of 
niggurs  dressed  up —  '  'And  a  lady  with  him,  I  think  ?' 
said  I,  as  coolly  as  I  could.  'I  '11  somehow  open  on  that  chap 
about  British  tyranny,  I  guess,  after  gettin'  a  little  knowledge 
out  of  him.  We  'd  just  rise  the  niggurs,  if  they  had  not  such 
a  right-down  cur'ous  mythullogy — but  I  tell  you  now,  mister, 


58  THE  GREEN  HAND 

that  's  one  of  the  very  p'ints  I  expect  to  meet.    Miss'naries 
won't  do  it  so  slick  off  in  two  thousand  years,  I  kinder  think, 

like 


as  this  identical  specoolation  will  in  ten—  besides  ^ 
Peruvain   mines,   which   the  miss'nary  line   dont.     1m   a 
regoolar  down-easter,  ye  see—  kinder  piercin'  into  a  subject, 
like  our  nation  in  gin'ral—  and  the  whull  schim  hangs  to- 
gether a  little,  I  calculate,  mister?'   'So  I  should  think,  Mr. 
Snout,  indeed,'  I  said.     Here  the  American  gave   another 
chuckle,  and  turned  to  again  on  his  walk,  double  quick   till 
you  'd  have  thought  the  whole  length  of  the  poop  shook,  when 
who  should  I  see  with  the  tail  of  my  eye  but  my  friend  the 
Tcitmagar  salaaming  to  Mr.  Snout  by  the  break  of  the  quarter- 
deck.    The  Yankee  seemed  rather  taken  aback  at  first,  and 
did  n't  know  what  to  make  of  him.     'S'iaam  sah'b,'  said  the 
dark  servant  with  an  impudent  look,  and  loud  enough  for  me 
to  hear,  as  I  stepped  from  aft.  'Judge  sahib  i-send  genteeman 
salaam  —  say  too  much  hiwy  boot  he  get  —  all  same  as  illim- 
phant.     S'pose  master  not  so  much  loud  walk  this  side?' 
'Well!'  broke  out  the  American,  looking  at  the  Bengalee's 
flat  turban  and  moustache,  as  if  he  were  too  great  a  curiosity 
to  be  angry  with,  then  turning  on  his  heel  to  proceed  with 
his  walk.   *'Now,  mister,'  said  he  to  me,  'that  's  what  I  call 
an  incalculable  impudent  black  ;  but  he  's  the  first  I  ever  saw 
with  hair  on  his  lip,  it  's  a  fact.'    'Master  not  mind?'  said  the 
kitmagar,  raising  his  key  next  time  Mr.  Snout  wheeled  round. 
'Judge  sahib  burra  burra  buhadoorkea!  —  ver'  great  man!' 
'Low  niggur  !'  said  Mr.  Snout,  tramping  away  aft  ;  'there  's 
your  British  regoolations,  I  say,  young  man  —  niggurs  baaing 
on   the    quarter-deck,    and    free-born    citizens    put    off    it!' 
'Bhote  Tchoob,  mistree  !'  squeaked  out  the  native  again  ;  'burra 
judge  sahib  not  to  i-sleep  apter  he  dine,  eh?     Vert  well;  T 
tell  the  sahib,  passiger  mistree  moor  stamp-i-stamp  all  the 
moor  I  can  say  !'    So  off  he  went  to  report  in  the  poop-cabin. 
A  little  after  up  shot  a  head  wrapped  in  a  yellow  bandanna, 
just   on   the  level   of   the   poop-deck,   looking   through   the 
breast-rail;  and  the  next  thing  I  saw  was  the  great  East- 
Indian  himself,  with  a  broad-flapped  Manilla  hat  over  his  top- 
gear,  and  a  red-flowered  dressing-gown,  standing  beside  the 
binnacle  with  Captain  Williamson.  'What  the  deuce;  Captain 
Williamson,'  said  the  judge,  with  an  angry  glance  up  to  the 
poop,  'cannot  I  close  my  eyelids  after  d:nner  for  one  inst.int  — 
in  my  own  private  apartments,  sir  —  for  his  hideous  noise? 
Who  the  deuce  is  that  person  there  —  eh,   eh  ?'     'He  's   an 
American   gentleman,   I   believe,    Sir    Charles,'   replied   the 
captain.    'Believe,  sir,'  said  the  judge;  'you  ought  to  know 


A  SEA  STORY  59 

every  individual,  I  think,  Captain  Williamson,  whom  you 
admitted  into  this  vessel.  I  expressly  stipulated  for  quiet, 
sir — I  understood  that  no  suspicious  or  exceptionable  persons 
should  travel  in  the  same  conveyance  with  my  suwarry.  I  'd 
have  taken  the  whole  ship,  sir !'  'I  've  no  more  to  do  than 
tell  him  the  regulations  aboard,  Sir  Charles,'  said  the  captain, 
'and  the  annoyance  will  cease.'  'Tell  him,  indeed!'  said  the 
judge,  a  little  more  good-humoredly.  'Why,  captain,  the 
man  looks  like  a  sea-pirate.  You  should  have  taken  only 
such  raw  griffins  as  that  young  lad  on  the  other  side.  Ho, 
kitmagar!'  'Maharaj?'  said  the  footman,  bowing  down  to 
the  deck.  'Slippers  lao!'  'Jee  khodabund,'  answered  the 
native,  and  immediately  after  he  reappeared  from  the  round- 
house door,  with  a  pair  of  turned-up  yellow  slippers.  'Take 
them  up  with  my  salaam  to  that  gentleman  there,'  said  Sir 
Charles,  in  Hindostanee,  'and  ask  him  to  use  them.' 
'Hullo !'  sung  out  Mr.  Snout,  on  being  hove-to  by  the  Icit- 
magar,  with  one  hand  on  his  breast,  and  the  other  holding 
the  slippers,  'this  won't  do !  You  'd  better  not  rile  me  again, 
you  cussed  niggur  you.  Out  o'  my  way!'  There  they  went 
at  it  along  the  poop  together,  Mr.  Snout  striding  right  for- 
ward with  his  long  legs,  and  the  Jcitmagar  hopping  backward 
out  of  his  way,  as  he  tried  to  make  himself  understood;  till, 
all  at  once,  the  poor  darky  lost  his  balance  at  the  ladder- 
head,  and  over  he  went  with  a  smash  fit  to  have  broken  his 
neck,  if  the  captain's  broad  back  had  n't  fortunately  been 
there  to  receive  it.  The  rage  of  Sir  Charles  at  this  was  quite 
beyond  joking;  nothing  else  would  satisfy  him  but  the  un- 
lucky Yankee's  being  shoved  off  the  poop  by  main  force,  and 
taken  below — the  one  stamping  and  roaring  like  an  old 
buffalo,  and  the  other  testifying  against  all  'aristocratycal 
t?/ranny.' 

"At  eight  bells  again  I  found  it  a  fine,  breezy  night,  the 
two  upper  mates  walking  the  weather  quarter-deck  in  blue- 
water  style,  six  steps  and  a  look  to  windward,  then  a  wheel 
round,  and,  now  and  then,  a  glance  into  the  binnacle.  I  went 
aft  and  leaned  over  the  'Seringapatam's'  lee  quarter,  looking 
at  the  white  back-wash  running  aft  from  her  bows,  in  green 
sparks,  into  the  smooth  alongside,  and  the  surge  coming 
round  her  counter  to  meet  it.  Everything  was  set  aloft  that 
could  draw,  even  to  a  starboard  main-topmast  stunsail;  the 
high  Indiaman  being  lighter  than  if  homeward-bound,  and 
the  breeze  strong  abeam,  she  had  a  good  heel-over  to  port ;  but 
she  went  easily  through  the  water,  and  it  was  only  at  the  other 
side  you  heard  it  rattling  both  ways  along  the  bends.  The 


6o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

shadow  of  her  went  far  to  leeward,  except  where  a  gleam  came 
on  the  top  of  a  wave  or  two  between  the  sails  and  under  their 
foot.    Just  below  the  sheer  of  the  hull,  aft,  it  was  as  dark  as 
night,  though  now  and  then  the  light  from  a  port  struck  on  it 
and  went  in  again ;  but  every  time  she  sank,  the  bight  of  her 
wake  from  astern  swelled  up  away  round  the  counter,  with  its 
black  side  as  smooth  as  a  looking-glass.    I  kept  peering  into 
it,  expecting  to  see  my  own  face,  while  all  the  time  I  was 
very  naturally  thinking  of  one  quite  different,  and  felt  uneasy 
till  I  should  actually  see  her.     'Confound  it,'   I  thought, 
'were  it  only  a  house,  one  might  walk  round  and  round  it  till 
he  found  out  the  window.'     I  fancied  her  bewitching  face 
through  the  garden-door,  as  clearly  as  if  I  saw  it  in  the  dark 
head  of  the  swell ;  but  I  'd  have  given  more  only  to  hear  that 
imp  of  a  cockatoo  scream  once — whereas  there  was  nothing 
but  the  water  working  up  into  the  rudder-case;  the  pintles 
creaking,  and  the  tiller-ropes  cheeping  as  they  traversed ;  and 
the  long  welter  of  the  sea  when  the  ship  eased  down,  with  the 
surgeon  and  his  friends  walking  about  and  laughing  up  to 
windward.  From  that  again,  I  ran  on  putting  things  together, 
till,  in  fact,  Jacobs'  notion  of  a  shipwreck  seemed  by  far  the 
best.     No  doubt  Jacobs  and  Westwood,  with  a  few  others, 
would  be  saved,  while  I  did  n't  even  object  much  to  the  old 
nabob  himself,  for  respectability's  sake,  and  to  spare  crape. 
But,  by  Jove,  would  n't  one  bring  him  to  his  bearings  soon 
enough  there?     Every  sailor  gets  hold  of  this  notion  some 
night-watch   or   other,   leaning   over   the   side,   with   pretty 
creatures  aboard  he  can  scarce  speak  to  otherwise;  and  I  was 
coiling  it  down  so  fast  myself,  at  the  moment,  that  I  had  just 
begun  to  pitch  into  the  nabob  about  our  all  being  Adam's 
sons  and  daughters,  under  a  knot  of  green  palm-trees,  at  the 
door  of  a  wooden  house,  half  thatched  with  leaves,  when  I 
was  brought  up  with  a  round  turn  by  seeing  a  light  shining 
through  the  hazy  bull's-eye  in  the  deck  where  I  stood.     Xo 
doubt  the  sweet  girl  I  had  been  thinking  of  was  actually 
there,  and  going  to  bed;  I  stretched  over  the  quarter,  but  the 
heavy  mouldings  were  in  the  way  against  seeing  more  than 
the  green  bars  of  the  after  window — all  turned  edgeways  to 
the  water,  where  the  gallery  hung  out  like  a  corner  turret 
from  the  ship's  side.     Now  and  then,  however,  when   she 
careened  a  little  more  than  ordinary,  and  the  smooth  lee 
swell  went  heaping  up   opposite,   I  could  notice  the  light 
through  the  Venetians  from  the  stateroom  come  out  upon  the 
dark  water  in  broad  bright  lines,  like  the  grate  across  a  fire, 
then  disappearing  in  a  ripple,  till  it  was  gone  again,  or  some- 


A  SEA  STORY  61 

body's  shadow  moved  inside.  It  was  the  only  lighted  window 
in  the  gallery,  and  I  looked  every  time  it  came  as  if  I  could 
see  in ;  when  at  last,  you  may  fancy  my  satisfaction,  as,  ail  of 
a  sudden,  one  long  slow  heave  over  of  the  ship  showed  me  the 
whole  bright  opening  of  the  port,  squared  out  of  her  shadow, 
where  it  shone  upon  the  glassy  round  of  the  swell.  'Twas  as 
plain  as  from  a  mirror  in  a  closet — the  lighted  gallery  window 
with  its  frame  swung  in,  a  bit  of  the  deck-roof  I  was  standing 
on,  and  two  female  figures  at  the  window — mere  dark  shapes 
against  the  lamp.  I  almost  started  back  at  the  notion  of  their 
seeing  me,  but  away  lengthened  the  light  on  the  breast  of 
the  swell,  and  it  sank  slowly  down  into  a  black  hollow,  as  the 
Indiaman  eased  up  to  windward.  Minute  by  minute,  quite 
breathless,  did  I  watch  for  such  another  chance;  but  next 
time  she  leaned  over  as  much,  the  port  had  been  closed,  and 
all  was  dark;  although  those  few  moments  were  enough  to 
send  the  heart  into  my  mouth  with  sheer  delight.  The  figure 
I  had  seen,  holding  with  one  hand  by  the  portsill,  and  ap- 
parently keeping  up  her  dress  with  the  other,  as  if  she  were 
looking  down  steadily  on  the  heave  of  the  sea  below — it 
could  n't  be  mistaken.  The  line  of  her  head,  neck,  and 
shoulders,  came  out  more  certain  than  if  they  had  n't  been 
filled  up  with  nothing  but  a  black  shadow;  it  was  just  Lota 
Hyde's,  as  she  sat  in  the  ballroom  amongst  the  crowd,  I  'd 
have  bet  the  'Victory'  to  a  bumboat  on  it ;  only  her  hair  hung 
loose  on  one  side,  while  the  girl  behind  seemed  to  be  dressing 
the  other,  for  it  was  turned  back,  so  that  I  saw  clear  past  her 
cheek  and  neck  to  where  the  lamp  was,  and  her  ear  gleamed 
to  the  light.  For  one  moment  nothing  could  be  plainer  than 
the  glimpse  old  Davy  Jones  gave  me  by  one  of  his  tricks ;  but 
the  old  fellow  was  quite  as  decorous  in  his  way  as  a  chamber- 
blind,  and  swallowed  his  pretty  little  bit  of  blab  as  quickly  as 
if  it  had  been  a  mermaid  caught  at  her  morning  toilet.  When- 
ever I  found  there  was  to  be  no  more  of  it  for  the  night,  the 
best  thing  to  calm  one's  feelings  was  to  light  a  cigar  and  walk 
out  the  watch;  but  I  took  care  it  should  rather  be  over 
the  nabob's  head  than  his  daughter's,  and  went  up  to  the 
weather  side,  where  there  was  nobody  else  by  this  time,  wish- 
ing her  the  sweetest  of  dreams,  and  not  doubting  I  should  see 
her  next  day. 

"I  daresay  I  should  have  walked  out  the  first  watch,  and 
the  second  too,  if  Westwood  had  n't  come  up  beside  me  before 
he  turned  in. 

"  'Why,  you  look  like  the  officer  of  the  watch,  Ned !'  said 
my  friend,  after  taking  a  glance  round  at  the  night.  'Yes — 


62  THE  GREEN  HAND 

what?— a— a— I  don't  think  so,'  stammered  I,  not  knowing 
what  he  said,  or  at  least  the  meaning  of  it,  though  certainly 
it  was  not  so  deep.  'I  hope  not  though,  Tom!'  said  I  again; 
1  'tis  the  very  thing  I  don't  want  to  look  like !'  'You  seem 
bent  on  keeping  it  up,  and  coming  the  innocent,  at  any  rate,' 
said  he ;  'I  really  did  n't  know  you  the  first  time  I  saw  you  in 
the  cuddy.'  'Why,  man,  you  never  saw  our  theatricals  in  the 
dear  old  'Iris,'  on  the  African  station !  I  was  our  best  female 
actor  of  tragedy  there,  and  did  Desdemona  so  well  that  the 
black  cook,  who  stood  for  Othello,  actually  cried.  He  said, 
"Nobody  but  'ee  dibble  umself  go  for  smudder  inissee  Dasde- 
moner!"'  'I  daresay,'  said  Westwood;  'but  what  is  the 
need  for  it  now,  even  if  you  could  serve  as  a  blind  for  me?' 
'My  dear  fellow,'  said  I,  'not  at  all — you  've  kept  it  up  very 
well  so  far — just  go  on.'  'Keep  it  up,  Ned?'  inquired  he — 
'what  do  you  mean?  I've  done  nothing  except  keep  quiet 
from  mere  want  of  spirits.'  'So  much  the  better,'  I  said;  'I 
never  saw  a  man  look  more  like  a  prophet  in  the  wilderness; 
it  does  n't  cost  you  the  least  trouble — why  you  'd  have  done 
for  Hamlet  in  the 'Iris,' if  for  nothing  else!  After  all,  though, 
a  missionary  don't  wear  blue  pilot  cloth  trousers,  nor  tie  his 
neckerchief  as  you  do,  Tom.  You  must  bend  a  white  neck- 
cloth to-morrow  morning !  I  'm  quite  serious,  Westwood,  I 
assure  you,'  continued  I.  'Just  think  of  the  suspicious  look 
of  two  navy  men  being  aboard  an  Indiaman,  nobody  knows 
how!  Why,  the  first  frigate  we  speak,  or  port  we  touch  at, 
they  'd  hand  one  or  both  of  us  over  at  once — which  I,  for  my 
part,  should  n't  at  all  like !'  'Indeed,  Collins,'  said  Tom,  turn- 
ing round,  'I  really  cannot  understand  why  you  went  out  in 
her !  It  distresses  me  to  think  that  here  you  've  got  your- 
self into  this  scrape  on  my  account !  At  least  you  '11  put  back 

in  the  first  home-bound  ship  we ' 

"'Oh!'  exclaimed  I,  blushing  a  little  in  the  dark  though, 
both  at  Westwood's  simplicity,  and  my  not  wishing  to  tell 
him  my  secret  yet — 'I  'm  tired  of  shore — I  want  to  see  India 
again — I'm  thinking  of  going  into  the  army!'  'The  army, 
indeed !'  said  Westwood,  laughing  for  the  first  time,  'and  you 
still  midshipman  all  over.  No,  no — that  won't  do!  I  see 


a  sailor's,  all  fair  and  above-board,  than  I  can  manage! 
won't  humbug  you,  at  any  rate — I  tell  you  I've  got  a 
scheme  of  my  own,  and  you  '11  know  more  of  it  soon.'  Tom 
whistled;  however  I  went  on  to  tell  him.  'The  long  and 


A  SEA  STORY  63 

the  short  of  it  is,  Westwood,  you  '11  bring  both  of  us  down  by 
the  head  if  you  don't  keep  up  the  missionary.'  'Mission- 
ary!' repeated  he;  'you  don't  mean  to  say  you  and  Neville 
intended  all  that  long  toggery  you  supplied  my  kit  with, 
for  me  to  sail  under  missionary  colors  ?  I  tell  you  what,  Ned, 
it's  not  a  character  I  like  to  cut  jokes  upon,  much  less  to 
sham.'  'Jokes!'  said  I;  'there's  no  joking  about  it;  'tis 
serious  enough.'  'Why,'  said  Westwood,  'now  I  know  the 
reason  of  a  person  like  a  clergyman  sighting  me  through 
his  spectacles  for  half  an  hour  together,  these  two  even- 
ings below !  This  very  afternoon  he  called  me  his  brother, 
and  began  asking  me  all  manner  of  questions,  which  I 
could  no  more  answer  than  the  cook's  mate.'  'Clergyman 
be  hanged!'  said  I,  'you  must  steer  clear  of  him,  Tom — 
take  care  you  don't  bowse  up  your  jib  too  much  within  hail 
of  him!  Mind,  I  gave  your  name,  both  to  the  head-stew- 
ard and  the  skipper,  as  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Thomas,  going 
back  to  Bombay.  There  was  nothing  else  for  it,  Westwood,' 
I  said,  'when  you  were  beyond  thinking  for  yourself.  All 
you  Ve  got  to  do  with  that  solemn  dissenting  chap  in  the 
spectacles  is  just  to  look  as  wise  as  possible,  and  let  him  know 
you  belong  to  the  Church.  And  as  for  shamming,  you 
need  n't  sham  a  bit — take  to  it,  my  dear  fellow,  if  that 
will  do  you  good.'  I  said  this  in  joke,  but  Westwood  seemed 
to  ponder  on  it  for  a  minute  or  two.  'Indeed,  Collins,' 
said  he  gravely,  'I  do  think  you  're  right.  What  do  we 
sailors  do  but  give  up  everything  in  life  for  a  mere  school- 
boy notion,  and  keep  turning  up  salt  water  for  years  to- 
gether like  the  old  monks  did  the  ground;  only  they  grew 
corn  and  apples  for  their  pains,  and  we  have  nothing  but 
ever  so  many  dull  watches  and  wild  cruises  ashore  to  re- 
member! How  many  sailors  have  turned  preachers  and 
missionaries,  just  because  something,  by  accident,  as  it 
were,  taught  them  to  put  to  account  what  you  can't  help 
feeling  now  and  then  in  the  very  look  of  the  sea.  What 
does  it  mean  in  the  Scriptures,  Ned,  about  "seeing  the 
wonders  of  the  Lord  in  the  deep"?'  As  Westwood  said 
this,  both  of  us  stopped  on  the  taffrail,  and,  somehow  or  other, 
a  touch  of  I  did  n't  well  know  what  went  through  me.  I 
held  my  breath,  with  his  hand  on  my  arm,  just  at  the 
sight  I  had  seen  a  thousand  times — the  white  wake  running 
broad  away  astern,  with  a  mark  in  the  middle  as  if  it  had  been 
torn,  on  to  the  green  yeast  of  the  waves,  then  right  to  their 
black  crests  plunging  in  the  dark.  It  was  midnight  ahead, 
and  the  clouds  risen  aloft  over  where  I  had  been  looking 


64  THE  GREEN  HAND 

half  an  hour  before;  but  the  long  ragged  split  to  west- 
ward was  opened  up,  and  a  clear  glaring  glance  of  the 
sky,  as  pale  as  death,  shot  through  it  on  the  horizon.  -'I 
can't  be  sorry  for  having  gone  to  sea,'  said  Westwood,  again ; 
'but  isn't  it  a  better  thing  to  leave  home  and  friends,  as 
those  men  do,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  ?'  As  soon  as  we  wheeled  round,  with  the  ship  be- 
fore us,  leaning  over  and  mounting  to  the  heave,  and  her 
spread  of  canvas  looming  out  on  the  dark,  my  thoughts 
righted.  'Well,'  said  I,  'it  may  be  all  very  well  for  some 
— every  one  to  his  rope;  but,  for  my  part,  I  think  if  a  man 
had  n't  been  made  for  the  sea,  he  could  n't  have  built  a 
ship,  and  where  would  your  missionaries  be  then?  You're 
older  than  I  am,  Westwood,  or  I  'd  say  you  let  some  of 
your  notions  run  away  with  you,  like  a  Yankee  ship  with 
her  short-handed  crew!'  'Oh,  Ned,'  said  he,  'of  all  places 
in  the  world  for  one's  actions  coming  back  on  him,  the  sea 
is  the  worst,  especially  when  you  're  an  idler,  and  have 
nothing  to  do  but  count  the  sails,  or  listen  to  the  pas- 
sengers' feet  on  deck.  These  two  days,  now,  I  've  thought 
more  than  I  ever  did  in  my  life.  I  can't  get  that  man's 
death  out  of  my  head;  every  time  the  sea  flashes  round  me 
as  I  come  from  below,  I  think  of  him — it  seems  to  me  he  is 
lying  yet  by  the  side  of  the  Channel.  I  can't  help  having 
the  notion  he  perhaps  fired  in  the  air!'  '  'T  was  a  base  lie !' 
said  I ;  'if  he  were  n't  there,,  you  would  n't  be  here,  I  can  tell 
you,  Westwood.'  'I  don't  know  how  I  shall  ever  drag  through 
this  voyage,'  continued  he.  'If  there  were  a  French  gun- 
boat to  cut  out  to-morrow  morning,  or  if  we  were  only  to 
have  a  calm  some  day  in  sight  of  a  Spanish  slaver — 't  is 
nothing  but  a  jogging  old  Indiaman  though !  I  shall  never 
more  see  the  flag  over  my  head  with  pride — every  prospect 
I  had  was  in  the  service!' 


A  SEA  STORY  65 


CHAPTER  V. 

"NEXT  morning  was  fine,  and  promised  to  be  hot;  the  ship 
still  with  a  side-wind  from  near  south-west,  which  't  was 
easy  to  see  had  slackened  since  midnight  with  a  pour  of 
rain,  the  sails  being  all  wet,  and  coats  hung  to  dry  in  the 
fore-rigging;  she  was  going  little  more  than  five  or  six 
knots  headway.  The  water  was  bluer,  lifting  in  long  waves, 
scarce  a  speck  of  foam  except  about  the  ship;  but  instead 
of  having  broke  up  with  the  sun,  or  sunk  below  the  level, 
the  long  white  clouds  were  risen  high  to  leeward,  wander- 
ing away  at  the  top,  and  facing  us  steady  below  out  of  the 
sky,  a  pretty  sure  sign  they  had  more  to  do.  However,  the 
Indiaman  was  all  alive  from  stem  to  stern;  decks  drying  as 
clean  as  a  table;  hens  and  ducks  clucking  in  the  coops  at 
their  food;  pigs  grunting;  stewards  and  cabin-boys  going- 
fore  and  aft,  below  and  above,  and  the  men  from  aloft 
coming  slowly  down  for  breakfast,  with  an  eye  into  the 
galley  funnel.  Most  of  the  passengers  were  upon  deck,  in 
knots  all  along  the  poop-nettings,  to  look  out  for  Corvo 
and  Flores,  the  westernmost  of  the  Azores,  which  we  had 
passed  before  daybreak. 

"  'I  say,  Fawd !'  said  the  warlike  cadet  with  the  moustache, 
all  of  a  sudden  yawning  and  stretching  himself,  as  if  he'd 
been  struck  with  the  thing  himself,  'cussed  dull  this  vessel 
already,  ain't  it  ?'  'No,'  said  Ford,  the  nautical  man ;  'that 's 
because  you  're  not  interested  in  the  ocean — the  sea — as  I  am ! 
You  should  study  the  craft,  Bob,  my  boy !  I  '11  teach  you 
to  go  aloft.  I  only  wish  it  would  blow  harder — not  a 
mere  capful  of  wind,  you  know,  but  a  tempest!'  'By  Jove! 
Fawd,'  said  the  other,  'hoiu  we  shall  enjoy  India — even  that 
breakfast  with  old  Rollock!  By  the  bye,  ain't  breakfast 
ready  yet?'  These  two  fellows,  for  my  part,  I  took  for 
a  joint-model,  just  trying  to  hit  a  mid-helm  betwixt  them, 
else  I  could  n't  have  got  through  it ;  accordingly  they  both 
patronized  me.  'Haw,  Cawlins!'  said  one,  nodding  to  me. 
'Is  that  you,  my  boy  ?'  said  the  other ;  'now  you  're  a  fellow 
never  would  make  a  sailor!'  'I  daresay  not,'  I  said  gravely, 
'if  they  have  all  to  commence  as  horse-marines.'  'Now, 
such  ignorance !'  said  Ford ;  'marines  don't  ride  horses,  Col- 
lins, you  fellow ! — how  d'  you  think  they  could  be  fed  at 
sea,  eh?'  'Well — now — that  didn't  occur  to  me!'  said  I, 
in  the  cadet  key.  'Fawd,  my  boy,  you  know  too  much — • 


66  THE  GREEN  HAND 

you  're  quite  a  sea-cook !'  'Oh,  now !  But  I  'm  afraid,  Win- 
terton,  I  never  shall  land  ashore  in  India — I  am  tempted 
to  go  into  the  navy,  instead.'  'I  say,  Mr  Ford/  put  in  a 
fat  unlicked  cub  of  a  tea-middy,  grinning  as  he  listened, 
'I've  put  you  up  to  a  few  rises  aboard,  but  I  don't  think  I 
told  you  we've  got  a  dozen  or  so  of  donkeys*  below  in  the 
steerage?'  'Donkeys !— no ?'  said  the  griffin.  'Yes,'  replied 
the  midshipman;  'they  kick  like  mad,  though,  if  they  get 
loose  in  a  gale — why  mine,  now,  would  knock  a  hole  through 
the  side  in  no  time — I'll  show  you  them  for  a  glass  of 
grog,  Mr.  Ford.' 

"'Done!'  and  away  they  went.  'That  fool,  Fawd,  you 
know,  Cawlins,  makes  one  sick  with  his  stuff;  I  declare  he 
chews  little  bits  of  tobacco  in  our  room  till  he  vomits  as 
much  as  before,'  said  Winterton.  'I  tell  you  what,  Caw- 
lins, you  're  a  sensible  man — I  '11  let  you  into  a  secret !  What 
do  you  think— there 's  the  deucedest  pretty  girl  in  the 
vessel,  we've  none  of  us  seen  except  myself;  I  caught  a 
sight  of  her  this  very  mawning.  She  don't  visit  the  cuddy 
at  all;  papa's  proud,  you  pusseeve — a  nabob,  in  short!'  'Oh, 
dear !'  said  I.  'Yes,  I  do  assure  you,  quite  a  bew-ty !  What 's 
to  be  done? — we  absolutely  must  meet  her,  eh,  Cawlins?' 
Here  I  mused  a  bit.  'Oh!'  said  I,  looking  up  again,  'shall 
we  send  a  deputation,  do  you  think?'  'Or  get  up  a  ball, 
Cawlins?  Hallo,  what's  this?'  said  he,  leaning  over  the 
breast-rail  to  look  at  a  stout  lady  who  was  lugging  a  chubby 
little  boy  of  three  or  four,  half  dressed,  up  the  poop-stair, 
while  her  careful  husband  and  a  couple  of  daughters  blocked 
it  up  above.  'See,  Tommy,  dear !'  said  she,  'look  at  the  land — 
the  nice  land,  you  know,  Tommy.'  'Come  away,  my  love,' 
said  her  spouse,  'else  you  won't  see  it.'  Tommy,  however, 
hung  back  manfully.  'Tommy  don't  want  wook  at  yand' 
sang  out  he,  kicking  the  deck;  'it  all  such  'mell  of  a  sheep, 
ma;  me  wook  at  'at  man  wis  gate  feel.  Fare  other  feel, 
man  ?  Oh,  fat  a  ugwy  man !'  The  honest  tar  at  the  wheel 
pulled  up  his  shirt,  and  looked  terribly  cut  at  this  plain 
remark  on  his  phiz,  which  certainly  wasn't  the  most  beau- 
tiful ;  meanwhile  he  had  the  leech  of  the  main-to'gallant- 
sail  shaking.  'Mind  your  helm,  there,'  sung  out  the  second 
mate  from  the  capstan.  'My  good  man,'  said  the  lady,  'will 
you  be  so  kind  as  to  show  us  the  land?'  'Ay,  ay,  sir,' 
growled  he,  putting  up  his  weather  spokes;  'sorry  I  carn't, 
ma'am — please  not  to  speak  to  the  man  at  the  wheel.'  Jacobs 
was  coiling  down  the  ropes  on  a  carronade  close  by,  and 
stepped  forward:  'Beg  your  ladyship's  pardon,'  said  he,  'but 

•  Sea  slang  for  sailors'  chests. 


A  SEA  STORY  67 

if  ye  '11  give  me  charge  o'  the  youngster  till  you  goes  on 
the  poop — why,  I  've  got  a  babby  at  home  myself.'  The 
stout  lady  handed  him  over,  and  Jacobs  managed  the  little 
chap  wonderfully.  This  was  the  first  time  Tommy  had 
been  on  deck  since  leaving  home,  and  he  could  n't  see  over 
the  high  bulwarks,  so  he  fancied  it  was  a  house  he  was  in. 
'Oh,  suts  a  big  tees,  man'  shouted  he,  clapping  his  hands  as 
soon  as  he  noticed  the  sails  and  rigging  aloft;  'suts  warge 
birds  in  a  tees'  'Ay,  ay,  my  little  man,'  answered  Jacobs, 
'that 's  the  wonderful  tree.  Did  ye  ever  hear  Jack  and  the 
Bean-stalk,  Tommy  ?'  'Oh,  'ess,  to  be  soo,  man,'  said  Tommy, 
scornfully,  as  if  he  should  think  he  had. 

"  'Well,  little  un,'  said  Jacobs,  'that 's  it,  ye  see.  It 
grows  up  every  night  afore  Jack's  door — and  them's  Jack  an' 
his  brothers  a-comin'  down  out  on  the  wonderfowl  coun- 
try aloft,  with  fruits  in  their  hands.'  The  little  fellow  was 
delighted,  and  for  going  aloft  at  once.  'Ye  must  wait  a  bit, 
Tommy,  my  lad,  till  you  're  bigger,'  said  Jacobs ;  'here,  I  '11 
show  you  the  country,  though';  so  he  lifted  the  boy  up  to 
let  him  see  the  bright  blue  sea  lying  high  away  round  the 
sky.  In  place  of  crying,  as  he  would  have  done  other- 
wise, Tommy  stared  with  pleasure,  and  finished  by  vowing 
to  get  as  soon  big  as  possible,  Jacobs  advising  him  to  eat 
always  as  hard  as  he  had  been  doing  hitherto. 

"That  morning  the  breakfast  party  was  in  high  spirits; 
Mr.  Finch,  the  chief  officer,  rigged  up  to  the  nines  in  white 
trousers  and  Company's  jacket,  laying  himself  out  to  please 
the  young  ladies,  with  whom  he  began  to  be  a  regular  hero. 
He  was  as  blustering  as  a  young  lion,  and  as  salt-tongued 
as  a  Channel  pilot  to  the  men;  but  with  the  ladies,  on  the 
poop  or  in  the  cabin,  he  was  always  twisting  his  sea-talk 
into  fine  language,  like  what  you  see  in  books,  as  if  the 
real  thing  weren't  good  enough.  He  rubbed  his  hands 
at  hearing  the  mate  on  deck  singing  out  over  the  skylight 
to  trim  yards,  and  gave  a  look  along  to  the  captain.  'You 
must  understand,  ladies,'  said  the  mate,  'this  is  what  we 
mariners  call  the  "ladies'  wind"!'  'Oh  delightful!'  'Oh 
so  nice!'  'You  sailors  are  so  polite!'  exclaimed  the  young 
ladies — 'then  does  it  actually  belong  to  us?'  'Why,  it's  a 
Trade  wind,  Miss  Fortescue!'  said  Ford,  the  nautical  cadet, 
venturing  to  put  in  a  word;  but  the  ladies  paid  no  at- 
tention to  him,  and  the  chief  mate  gave  him  a  look  of 
contempt.  'You  see,  ladies,  the  reason  is,'  said  the  mate, 
in  a  flourishing  way,  'because  it's  so  regular,  and  as  gen- 
tle as — as — why  it  wafts  your  bark  into  the  region  of,  you 


68  THE  GREEN  HAND 

see— the '     'The   "Doldrums,"'   put   in   the   third   mate, 

who  was  a  brinier  individual  by  far,  and  a  true  seaman, 
but  wished  to  pay  his  compliments,  too,  between  his  moutn- 
fuls  'At  any  rate,'  Finch  went  on,  'it's  congenial,  I  may 
say,  to  the  feelings  of  the  fair— you  need  never  touch  her 
braces  from  one  day  to  another.  I  just  wish,  Miss  *or- 
tescue,  you'd  allow  me  the  felicity  of  letting  you  see  how 
to  put  the  ship  about.'  'A  soldier  might  put  her  in  stays, 
miss,'  said  the  third  mate  again,  encouragingly,  'and  out  oi 
'em  again;  she's  a  remarkably  easy  craft,  owing  to  her— 
'Confound  it,  Mr.  Rickett,'  said  the  first  mate,  turning 
round  to  his  unlucky  inferior,  'you're  a  sight  too  coarse 
for  talking  to  ladies.  Well  the  captain  didn't  hear  you! 
Rickett  looked  dumfoundered,  not  knowing  what  was 
wrong ;  the  old  ladies  frowned ;  the  young  ones  either  blushed 
or  put  their  handkerchiefs  to  their  mouths,  and  some  took 
the  occasion  for  walking  off. 

"The  weather  began  to  have  a  different  turn  already  by 
the  time  we  got  up — the  clouds  banking  to  leeward,  the  sea 
dusky  under  them,  and  the  air-line  between  rather  _ bluish. 
Two  or  three  lazy  gulls  in  our  wake  began  to  look  alive  and 
show  themselves,  and  a  whole  black  shoal  of  porpoises  went 
tumbling  and  rolling  across  the  bows  for  half  an  hour,  till 
down  they  dived  of  a  sudden,  head-foremost,  one  after  an- 
other in  the  same  spot,  like  so  many  sheep  through  a  gap. 

"My  gentleman-mate  was  to  be  seen  everywhere  about 
the  decks,  and  active  enough,  I  must  say;  the  next  minute 
he  was  amongst  two  or  three  young  ladies  aft,  as  polite  as 
a  dancing-master,  showing  them  everything  in  board  and 
out,  as  if  nobody  knew  it  except  himself.  Here  a  young 
girl,  one  of  Master  Tommy's  sisters,  came  skipping  aft,  half 
in  a  fright.  'Oh,  Miss  Fortescue!'  cried  she,  'just  think! — 
I  peeped  over  into  a  nasty  black  hole  there,  with  a  ladder  in  it, 
and  saw  ever  so  many  common  sailors  hung  up  in  bags  from 
the  ceiling.  Oh,  what  do  you  think,  one  of  them  actually 
kissed  his  hand  to  me!'  'Only  one  of  the  watch  below 
awake,  miss,'  said  the  mate;  'impertinent  swab-^I  only 
wish  I  knew  which  it  was.'  'Poor  fellows,'  said  the 
young  ladies,  'pray  don't  be  harsh  to  them — but  what  have 
they  been  doing?'  'Oh,  nothing,'  said  he,  with  a  laugh, 
*but  swing  in  their  hammocks  since  eight  bells.'  'Then 
are  they  so  lazy  as  to  dislike  getting  up  to  such  de- 
lightful-looking occupations?'  'Why,  ma'am,'  said  the  mate, 
staring  a  little,  'they  've  been  on  deck  last  night  two  watches, 
of  four  hours  each,  I  must  say  that  for  them.'  'Dear  me!' 


A  SEA  STORY  69 

broke  out  the  ladies;  and  on  this  the  chief  officer  took  oc- 
casion to  launch  out  again  concerning  'the  weary  vigils,'  as 
he  called  them,  'which  we  mariners  have  to  keep,  far  dis- 
tant from  land,  without  a  smile  from  the  eyes  of  the  fair 
to  bless  us.  But,  however,  the  very  thought  of  it  gives 
courage  to  'the  sailor's  manly  heart,  to  disregard  the  bil- 

t  lows'  fearful  rage,  and  reef  topsails  in  the  tempest's  angry 
height !'  Thought  I,  'He  'd  much  better  do  it  before.'  How- 
ever, the  young  ladies  did  n't  seem  to  see  that,  evidently 
looking  upon  the  mate  as  the  very  pink  of  seamen!  and 
he  actually  set  a  second  lower  stud-sail,  to  show  them  how 
fast  she  could  walk. 

"  'D'  ye  know,  sir,'  put  in  the  third  mate,  coming  from 
forward,  'I  'm  in  doubt  it 's  going  to  be  rather  a  sneezer,  sir, 
if  ye  look  round  the  larboard  stun-s'ls.'  Sure  'enough, 
if  our  fine  gentleman  had  had  time,  amidst  his  polite- 
ness, just  to  cast  an  eye  beyond  his  spread  of  cloth, 
he  would  have  noticed  the  clouds  gathered  all  in  a  lump 
to  north-eastward,  one  shooting  into  another — the  breast  of 
them  lowering  down  to  the  horizon,  and  getting  the  same 
color  as  the  waves,  till  it  bulked  out  bodily  in  the  middle. 
You  'd  have  fancied  the  belly  of  it  scarce  half  a  mile  off 
from  the  white  yard-arms,  and  the  hollow  of  it  twenty — 
coming  as  stealthily  as  a  ghost,  that  walks  without  feet  after 
you,  its  face  to  yours,  and  the  skirt  of  its  winding-sheet 
in  'kingdom-come'  all  the  while.  I  went  up  on  the  poop, 
and  away  behind  the  spanker  I  could  see  the  sun  gleam 
for  one  minute  right  on  the  eye  of  a  stray  cloud  risen  to 
nor'-west,  with  two  short  streaks  of  red,  purple,  and  yellow 
together — what  is  called  a  'wind-gall';  then  it  was  gone. 
The  American  was  talking  away  with  jovial  old  Rollock 
and  Ford,  who  began  to  look  wise,  and  think  there  was 
mischief  brewing  in  the  weather.  'Mind  your  helm  there, 
sirrah!'  sung  out  the  mate,  walking  aft  to  the  wheel,  as 
everything  aloft  fluttered.  'She  won't  lie  her  course,  sir,' 
said  the  man.  'All  aback,  for'ud !'  hailed  the  men  at  work 

?  on  the  bowsprit;  and  hard  at  it  went  all  hands,  trimming 
yards  over  and  over  again;  the  wind  freshening  fast,  stun- 
sails  flapping,  booms  bending,  and  the  whole  spread  of 
canvas  in  a  cumber,  to  teach  the  mate  not  to  be  in  such 
a  hurry  with  his  absurd  merchantmen's  side-wings  next 
time.  The  last  stun-sail  he  hauled  down  caught  full  aback 
before  the  wheel  could  keep  her  away  quick  enough;  the 
sheet  of  it  hitched  foul  at  the  boom  end,  and  crack  through 
went  the  boom  itself,  with  a  smash  that  made  the  ladies 


7o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

think  it  a  case  of  shipwreck  commencing.  The  loose  scud 
was   flying   fast   out   from   behind   the   top    of   the    clouds, 
and  spreading  away  overhead,  as  if  it  would  catch  us  on  the 
other  side;  while  the  clouds  themselves  broke  up  slowly  to 
both  hands,  and  the  north-east  breeze  came  sweeping  along 
right  into  the  three  topsails,  the  wind  one  way   and  the 
sea   another.     As   she   rounded   away   steadying   before   it, 
you  felt  the  masts  shake  in  her  till  the  topsails  blew  out 
full;  she  gave  one  sudden  bolt  up  with  her  stern,  like  an 
old  jackass  striking  behind,  which  capsized  three  or  four 
passengers   in  a  heap,   and  next  minute   she   was   surging 
along   through   the  wide  heave   of   the   water   as   gallantly 
as  heart  could  wish,  driving  a  wave  under  her  bows  that 
swung  back  under  the  fore-chains  on  both  sides,  with  two 
boys  running  up  the  rigging  far  aloft  on  each  mast  to  stow 
the  royals.     The  next  thing  I  looked  at  was  poor  Ford's 
nautical  hat  lifting  alongside  on  the  top  of  a  wave,  as  if 
it  were*  being  handed  up  to  him ;  but  no  sooner  seen,  than 
it  was  down  in  the  hollow  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off,  a  couple 
of  white  gulls  making  snatches  at  it  and  one  another,  and 
hanging  over  it  again  with  a  doubtful  sort  of  scream.     Still 
the  wind  was  as  yet  nothing  to  speak  of  when  once  aft; 
the   sea  was  getting  up   slowly,   and  the   Indiaman's   easy 
roll  over  it  made  every  one  cheerful,  in  spite  of  the  shifts 
they  were  put  to  for  getting  below.    When  the  bell  struck  for 
dinner,  the  sun  was  pretty   clear,  away  on   our   starboard 
bow;  the  waves  to  south-westward  glittered  as  they  rose; 
one  side  of  the  ship  shone  bright  to  the  leech  of  the  main- 
to'gallant-sail,  and  we  left  the  second  mate  hauling  down 
the  jibs   for   want   of   use   for   them.      The   splendid   pace 
she  went  at  was  plain,  below  in  the  cuddy,  to  everybody; 
you  felt  her  shoving  the  long  seas  aside  with  the  force  of  a 
thousand  horses  in  one,  then  sweep  they  came  after  her, 
her  stern  lifted,  she  rolled  round,  and  made  a  floating  rush 
ahead.    In  the  middle  of  it,  something  darkened  the  half -open 
sky-light,  where  I  perceived  the  Scotch  second  mate's  twisted 
nose  and  red  whiskers,  as  he  squinted  down  with  one  eye 
aloft,   and   disappeared   again;    after   which   I   heard   them 
clew  up  to'gallant-sails.     Still  she  was  driving  through  it 
rather  too  bodily  to  let  the  seas  rise  under  her;  you  heard, 
the  wind  hum  off  the  main-topsail,  and  sing  through  be- 
twixt it  and  the  main-course,  the  scud  flying  over  the  skysail- 
mast  truck,  which  I  could  see  from  below.     The  second  mate 
looked  in  once  more,  caught  'the  first  officer's  eye  with  a 
glance   aloft,   and  the  gallant   mate  left   attending  to   the 


A  SEA  STORY  71 

ladies  to  go  on  deck.  Down  went  the  skylight  frame,  and 
somebody  carefully  threw  a  tarpaulin  over  it,  so  that  there 
was  only  the  light  from  the  port  windows,  by  which  a 
dozen  faces  turned  still  whiter. 

"The  moment  I  shoved  my  head  out  of  the  booby-hatch,  I 
saw  it  was  like  to  turn  out  a  regular  gale  from  nor' -east. 
Both  courses  brailed  close  up,  and  blowing  out  like  rows 
of  big  bladders;  the  three  topsail-yards  down  on  the  caps 
to  reef,  their  canvas  swelling  and  thundering  on  the  stays 
like  so  many  mad  elephants  breaking  loose;  the  wild  sky 
ahead  of  us  staring  right  through  in  triumph,  as  it  were, 
and  the  wind  roaring  from  aft  in  her  bare  rigging;  while  a 
crowd  of  men  in  each  top  were  laying  out  along  the  foot- 
ropes  to  both  yard-arms.  Below,  they  were  singing  out  at 
the  reef-tackles,  the  idlers  tailing  on  behind  from  the  cook 
to  the  cabin-boys,  a  mate  to  each  gang,  and  the  first  officer, 
with  his  hands  to  his  mouth,  before  the  wheel,  shouting, 
'Bear  a  hand ! — d'  ye  hear ! — two  reefs.'  It  did  one's  heart 
good,  and  I  entered  into  the  spirit  of  it,  almost  forgiving 
Finch  his  fine  puppy  lingo,  when  I  saw  him  take  it  so 
coolly,  standing  like  a  seaman,  and  sending  his  bull's  voice 
right  up  with  the  wind  into  the  bellies  of  the  topsails — 
so  I  e'en  fell  to  myself,  and  dragged  with  the  steward  upon 
the  inizzen  reef-tackle  till  it  was  chock  up.  There  we 
were,  running  dead  before  it,  the  huge  waves  swelling 
long  and  dark  after  us  out  of  the  mist,  then  the  tops 
of  them  scattered  into  spray;  the  glaring  white  yards 
swayed  slowly  over  aloft,  each  dotted  with  ten  or  a  dozen 
sturdy  figures,  that  leaned  over,  with  the  reef -points  in  their 
hands,  waiting  till  the  men  at  the  earings  gave  the  word ;  and 
Jacobs'  face,  as  he  turned  round  to  do  so — hanging  on 
heaven  knows  what  at  one  of  the  ends — was  as  distinct  as 
possible  against  the  gray  scud  miles  off,  and  sixty  feet 
above  water.  A  middy,  without  his  cap,  and  his  hair 
blowing  out,  stood  holding  on  in  the  maintop  to  quicken 
them;  the  first  mate  waved  his  hand  for  the  helmsman  to 
'luff  a  little.'  The  ship's  head  was  rounded  slowly  up 
as  she  rose  on  a  big  blue  swell,  that  caught  a  wild  gleam 
on  it  from  westward,  when  I  happened  to  glance  towards 
the  wheel.  I  could  scarcely  trust  my  eyes — in  fact  it  had 
never  been  less  in  my  mind  since  coming  aboard  than 
at  that  very  point — but  outside  one  of  the  round-house 
doors,  which  was  half  open,  a  few  feet  from  the  bulwark 
I  leaned  over — of  all  moments  in  the  day,  there  stood  Lota 
Hyde  herself  at  last.  Speak  of  faces !— why  I  had  n't  even 


72  THE  GREEN  HAND 

power  to  turn  farther  round,  and  if  I  was  half  out  of 
breath  before,  what  with  the  wind  and  with  pulling  my 
share,  I  was  breathless  now— all  my  notions  of  her  never 
came  up  to  the  look  of  her  face  at  that  instant.  She  just 
half  stopped,  as  it  were,  at  sight  of  the  state  of  things,  her 
hands  letting  go  of  the  large  shawl,  and  her  hair  streaming 
from  under  a  straw  hat  tied  down  with  a  ribbon — her  lips 
parted  betwixt  dread  and  bewilderment,  and  her  eyes  wan- 
dering round  till  they  settled  to  gazing  straight  at  the 
scene  ahead  in  pure  delight.  I  actually  looked  away  aloft 
from  her  again,  to  catch  what  it  was  she  seemed  to  see 
that  could  be  so  beautiful! — the  second  reef  just  made 
fast,  men  crowding  in  to  run  down  and  hoist  away  with 
the  rest,  till,  as  they  tailed  along  decks,  the  three  short- 
ened topsails  rose  faster  up  against  the  scud,  and  their 
hearty  roaring  chorus  was  as  loud  as  the  gale.  'Keep  her 
away,  my  lad,'  said  the  mate,  with  another  wave  of  his 
hand;  the  topsails  swelled  fair  before  it,  and  the  India- 
man  gave  a  plunge  right  through  the  next  sea,  rising 
easily  to  it,  heave  after  heave.  The  setting  sun  struck  two 
or  three  misty  spokes  of  his  wheel  through  a  cloud,  that 
made  a  big  wave  here  and  there  glitter;  the  ship's  white 
yards  caught  some  of  it,  and  a  row  of  broad  backs,  with 
their  feet  stretching  the  foot-rope  as  they  stowed  the  fore- 
sail, shone  bright  out,  red,  blue,  and  striped,  upon  the 
hollow  of  the  yellow  fore-topsail,  in  the  midst  of  the  gale; 
while  just  under  the  bowsprit  you  saw  her  black  figure- 
head, with  his  white  turban,  and  his  hand  to  his  breast, 
giving  a  cool  salaam  now  and  then  to  the  spray  from  her 
bows.  At  that  moment,  though,  Lota  Hyde's  eye  was  the 
brightest  thing  I  could  find — all  the  blue  gone  out  of  the 
waves  was  in  it.  As  for  her  seeing  myself,  I  had  n't  had 
space  to  think  of  it  yet,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  noticed 
her  glance  light  for  the  first  time,  as  it  were,  on  the  mate, 
who  was  standing  all  the  while  with  his  back  to  her  on 
the  same  plank  of  the  quarter-deck.  'Down  main-course!' 
he  sung  out,  putting  one  hand  in  his  jacket  pocket;  'down 
both  tacks — that 's  it,  my  men — down  with  it !' — and  out 
it  flapped,  slapping  fiercely  as  they  dragged  it  by  main 
force  into  the  bulwark-cleats,  till  it  swelled  steady  above 
the  main-stay,  and  the  old  ship  sprang  forward  faster  than 
before,  with  a  wild  wash  of  the  Atlantic  past  her  sides. 

"'Another  hand  to  the  wheel,  here!'  said  the  first  officer. 
He  took  a  look  aloft,  leaning  to  the  rise  of  her  bows,  then 
to  windward  as  she  rolled;  everything  looked  trim  and 


A  SEA  STORY  73 

weatherly,  so  he  stepped  to  the  binnacle,  where  the  lamp 
was  ready  lighted;  and  it  just  struck  me  what  a  smart, 
good-looking  fellow  the  mate  was,  with  his  sunburnt  face; 
and  when  he  went  to  work,  straightforward,  no  notion  of 
showing  off. 

"  'Confound  it,  though,'  thought  I  of  a  sudden,  seeing  her 
eyes  fixed  on  him  again,  and  then  to  seaward.  'Mr.  Macleod,' 
said  he  to  the  second  mate,  'send  below  the  watch,  if  you 
please.  This  breeze  is  first-rate,  though !' 

"When  he  turned  round  he  noticed  Miss  Hyde,  started, 
and  took  off  his  cap  with  a  fine  bow.  'I  beg  pardon,  ma'am,' 
said  he,  'a  trifle  of  wind  we  have.  I  hope,  Miss  Hyde,  it 
has  n't  troubled  you  in  the  round-house  ?'  What  Miss  Hyde 
might  have  said  I  don't  know,  but  her  shawl  caught  a  gust 
out  of  the  spanker,  though  she  was  in  the  lee  of  the  high 
poop;  it  blew  over  her  head,  and  then  loose — I  sprang  for- 
ward— but  the  mate  had  hold  of  itr  and  put  it  over  her 
again.  The  young  lady  smiled  politely  to  the  mate,  and 
gave  a  cold  glance  of  surprise,  as  I  thought,  at  me.  I 
felt  that  moment  I  could  have  knocked  the  mate  down 
and  died  happy.  'Why,  sir,'  said  he,  with  a  cool  half-sneer, 
'I  fancied  none  of  you  gentlemen  would  have  favored  us 
this  capful  of  wind — plenty  of  air  there  is  on  deck,  though.' 

"It  just  flashed  through  my  mind  what  sort  of  rig  I 
was  in — I  looked  over  my  infernal  longshore  toggery,  and 
no  wonder  she  did  n't  recollect  me  at  all.  'Curse  this  con- 
founded folly  T  muttered  I,  and  made  a  dart  to  run  up  the 
poop-steps,  where  the  breeze  took  me  slap  aback,  just  as  the 
judge  himself  opened  the  larboard  door.  'Why,  Violet,'  ex- 
claimed he,  surprised  at  seeing  his  daughter,  'are  you 
exposing  yourself  to  this  disagreeable — I  declare  a  perfect 
storm!'  'But  see,  papa!'  said  she,  taking  hold  of  his  arm, 
'how  changed  the  sea  is ! — and  the  ship ! — just  look  where 
the  sun  was !'  'Get  in — get  in,  do !'  kept  on  her  father ;  'you 
can  see  all  that  again  in  some  finer  place;  you  should  have 
had  a  servant  with  you,  at  least,  Violet.'  'I  shall  come  out 
oftener  than  I  thought,  papa,  I  can  tell  you!'  said  she,  in  an 
arch  sort  of  way,  before  she  disappeared. 

"The  mate  touched  his  cap  to  the  judge,  who  asked 
where  the  captain  was.  '  'Gad,  sir,'  said  the  judge  crossly, 
'the  floor  resembles  an  earthquake — every  piece  of  furniture 
swings,  sir ;  't  is  well  enough  for  sleeping,  but  my  family 
find  it  impossible  to  dine.  If  this  oolta-poolta  continues  in 
my  apartments,  I  must  speak  to  Captain  Williamson  about 
it.  He  must  manage  to  get  into  some  other  part  of  the 


74  THE  GREEN  HAND 

sea,  where  it  is  less  rough,'  saying  which,  he  swayed  him- 
self in  and  shut  the  door. 

"I  still  kept  thinking  and  picturing  her  face — Lota  Hyde  s 
—when  she  noticed  the  mate.  After  all,  anyone  that  knew 
tack  from  bowline  might  reef  topsails  in  a  fair  wind; 
but  a  girl  like  that  would  make  more  count  of  a  man  know- 
ing how  to  manage  wind  and  sea  than  of  the  Duke  on  his 
horse  at  Waterloo  beating  Bonaparte;  and  as  for  talk,  he 
would  jaw  away  the  whole  voyage,  no  doubt,  about  moon- 
light and  the  ocean,  and  your  genteel  fancy  mariners.  'By 
George,  though!'  thought  I,  'if  the  mate's  a  better  man 
than  me,  hang  me — it's  all  right;  but  burn  my  wig  if  I 
don't  go  and  turn  a  Hindoo  fakeer  with  my  one  arm 
stuck  up  in  the  air  till  I  die.  Go  it,  old  lady,'  said  I,  as  I 
glanced  over  the  side  before  going  below  for  the  night, 
'roll  away,  only  shake  something  or  other  to  do  out  of  the 
pace  you  're  going  at.' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"THE  next  morning,  when  Westwood  and  I  went  on  deck, 
there  was  still  a  long  sea  running  after  us.  However,  by 
noon  the  sun  came  sifting  through  aloft,  the  breeze  got  warm, 
the  decks  were  dry  as  a  bone,  and  one  just  saw  the  large 
dark-blue  swells  lift  up  alongside  with  a  shower  of  spray, 
between  the  seams  of  the  bulwarks.  By  six  o'clock,  again, 
it  was  got  pretty  dusk  ahead,  and  I  strolled  forward  right 
to  the  heel  of  the  bowsprit  with  Westwood,  looking  down 
through  her  head-boards  into  the  heap  of  white  foam  that 
washed  up  among  the  woodwork  every  time  she  plunged. 
One  knot  of  the  men  were  sitting  with  their  legs  over  the 
break  of  the  topgallant  forecastle,  swinging  as  she  rolled — 
laughing,  roaring,  and  singing  as  loud  as  they  could  bawl, 
since  the  wind  carried  it  all  forward  out  of  the  officers' 
hearing.  I  was  rather  surprised  to  see  and  hear  that  Jacobs' 
friends,  Bill  Dykes  and  Tom,  were  there;  the  rogues  were 
taking  back  their  savage  to  the  Andaman  Isles  again,  I 


suppose. 
« < —  - 


Well,  my  lads,'  said  Tom,  a  regular  sample  of  the 
-o'-warVman,  'this  is  what  I  calls  balling  it  off.  That 
mate  knows  how  to  make  her  go,  anyhow.'  'We  '11  soon  be 
into  tropical  regents,  I  consider,'  remarked  Bill,  who  made 


A  SEA  STORY  75 

a  point  of  never  using  sea-phrases  except  ashore,  when  he 
came  out  double  salt,  to  make  up  for  his  gentility  afloat. 
'Hum,'  grumbled  a  big  ugly  fellow,  the  same  so  flattered  at 
the  wheel  by  little  Tommy,  'I  doesn't  like  your  fair  winds. 
1  ''11  tell  you  what,  mates,  we  '11  be  havin'  it  puff  more 
from  east'ard  ere  third  watch.'  'What 's  the  odds,  Harry, 
old  ship?'  said  Tom,  'a  fair  wind  still.'  'I  say,  my  lads,' 
exclaimed  Tom  again,  looking  along  toward  the  poop,  'yon- 
der's  the  ould  naboob  squinting  out  the  round-house  doors! 
— what's  he  after  now,  I  wonder?' 

"On  stooping  down,  accordingly,  I  could  see  the  Judge's 
face  with  the  binnacle  light  shining  on  it,  as  he  swayed 
to  and  fro  in  the  doorway,  seemingly  in  a  passion  at 
something  or  other.  'Why,'  said  Bill,  'I  consider  he  can't 
altogether  circumstand  the  shindy  as  this  here  roll  kicks 
up  inside  of  his  blessed  paliss.'  'Nabob,  does  ye  call  him,' 
said  Harry,  sulkily ;  'I  '11  tell  you  what,  mates,  he  be  n't 
nothin'  but  a  reg'lar  ould  tyrant.  T'other  mornin7  there, 
I  just  chances  to  brush  against  him  as  I  kiles  up  a  rope; 
says  he,  "Fellow"  an'  says  he  to  the  skipper,  "I  'd  take 
it  kind,"  says  he,  "if  ye  'd  horder  them  commin  sailors 
for  to  pay  more  contention  alongside  o'  my  legs,  Captain 
Williamson."  Why,  do  the  old  beggar  not  think  as  a  feller 
bo  n't  a  man  as  well  as  hisself ,  with  his  commin  sailors,  an' 
Le  Mowed  to  him.'  'Well  though,  Harry,  old  ship,'  said 
Tom,  'ain't  that  daurter  of  his'n.  a  jewel !  I  say,  mates,  she  's 
all  rounded  into  the  head,  and  a  clear  run  from  aft,  like  a 
corvette  model.  My  eye,  that  hair  of  her  is  worth  gold ;  I  'd 
go  down  on  the  deck  to  please  her,  d'ye  see.'  'No  doubt,' 
says  Bill,  'she 's  what  I  call  a  exact  sparkler.'  'Well,  I 
does  n't  know,'  said  Harry,  'last  vy'ge  but  one  we  'd  got  one 
aboard,  a'most  beautifuller — half  as  high  again,  an  twice 
her  beam — I'm  not  sure  but  she —  'All  my  eye,  mess- 
mates,' broke  in  Tom;  'that  one  were  built  for  stowing,  ye 
see,  bo',  like  yer  cargo  lumpers.  No,  this  here  young  gal 
'minds  me  o'  no  other  blessed  thing  but  the  "Nymph" 
corvette's  figure-head — and  that  war  n't  her  match,  neither. 
She  don't  look  down  upon  a  sailor,  I  can  tell  ye;  there,  I 
see  her  t'other  morning-watch  a-talkin'  to  Jacobs  yonder,  as 

pleasant  and  cheery  as Hullo,  there's  the  captain  corned 

out  of  the  naboob's  cabin,  and  speaking  with  the  mate  by 
the  compass — blest  if  they  an't  a-goin'  to  alter  her  course.' 

'  'Send  aft  here  to  the  bracps !'  sung  out  the  first  officer 
to  the  boatswain.  'Blow  me,  shipmates,  that 's  yeer  naboob 
now,  I'll  bet  a  week's  grog,'  growled  Harry;  'ship's  course 


76  THE  GREEN  HAND 

as  fair  as  a  handspike  through  a  grummit;  couldn't  bring 
the  wind  more  aft;  my  eyes,  the  sea's  comin'  to  be  bought 
and  sold.'  Whatever  it  might  be  for,  in  came  the  star- 
board yard-arms  till  she  lay  over  a  little;  down  studding 
and  topgallant-sails,  as  neither  of  them  could  stand  it 
except  from  aft;  and  off  went  the  old  ship  rising  high 
athwart  the  seas,  her  head  sou' -south-east,  and  one  streak 
of  broken  yellow  light,  low  down  to  westward  on  her  lee 
quarter.  It  was  beginning  to  blow  harder,  too,  and  by  eight 
bells  it  was  'Reef  topsails,  single  reef.'  The  waves  played 
slap  on  her  weather  side,  the  heavy  sprays  came  showering 
over  her  bulwarks  forward,  and  the  forecastle  planks  were 
far  from  being  so  comfortable  for  a  snooze  as  the  night 
before. 

"As  soon  as  the  wheel  was  relieved,  and  the  other  watch 
below,  'the  ugly  man'  and  his  companions  returned.  'Mates,' 
said  he,  solemnly,  planting  his  back  against  the  bitts,  'I  've 
sailed  this  five-and-twenty  year  before  the  mast,  an'  I  never 
yet  seed  the  likes  o'  that!  Take  my  say  for  it,  we're  on  a 
wind  now,  but  afore  next  mornin'  we'll  be  close-hauled, 
beating  up  against  it.'  'Well,'  said  another,  'she  leaks  a 
deal  in  the  eyes  of  her  below;  in  that  case,  Harry,  your 
watch  as  slings  in  the  fore-peak  '11  be  all  afloat  by  that  time.' 
'What  day  did  this  craft  sail  on,  I  asks?'  said  the  sail- 
maker,  gravely.  'Why,  a  Thursday  night,  old  ship,'  re- 
plied several  eagerly.  'No,'  went  on  the  sailmaker;  'you 
counts  sea-fashion,  shipmates ;  but  till  ye  're  clear  o'  the 
pilot,  ye  know,  it 's  land-fashion,  ye  ought  for  to  go  by. 
'Twas  Friday  by  that  'ere  said  reckoning,  shipmates.'  'No! 
so  it  was  though,'  said  the  rest;  'it  don't  look  well.'  'How- 
somedever,  I  'm  not  goin'  to  come  for  to  go  and  be  a  croaker,' 
continued  the  sailmaker,  in  a  voice  like  a  ghost's.  'Well, 
luck  or  no  luck,  mates;  grumbled  big  Harry,  'if  so  be  them 
larboard  bowlines  is  hauled  taut  by  the  morning  watch, 
blow  me  if  I  don't  be  upsides  with  that  'ere  ould  naboob — • 
that 's  all.' 

"Next  morning,  after  all,  it  was  easy  to  feel  the  ship  had 
really  been  hauled  close  on  a  wind.  When  we  went  up  the 
weather  was  clearing,  though  with  a  strongish  gale  from 
eastward,  a  heavy  sea  running,  on  which  the  Indiaman 
strained  and  creaked  as  she  rose,  rolling  slowly  to  windward 
with  her  three  double-reefed  topsails  strained  full,  then 
pitched  head  into  it  as  a  cloud  of  foam  and  spray  flew 
over  her  weather  bow.  It  was  quite  early,  the  decks  lately 


A  SEA  STORY  77 

washed  down,  and  the  Indian  judge  walking  the  weather 
quarterdeck  as  grave  and  comfortable  as  if  it  was  all  right. 
The  captain  was  with  him,' and  two  mates  to  leeward.  'Sail 
ho!'  hailed  a  man  on  the  foreyard.  'Whereaway?'  sang  out 
the  mate  of  the  watch.  'Broad  abeam !' 

"The  captain  went  up  to  the  poop,  and  I  stood  on  the 
foremost  carronade  near  the  main  rigging,  where  I  could 
just  see  her  now  and  then  white  against  the  blue  haze 
'between  the  hollows  of  the  waves,  as  the  Indiaman  lifted. 
'There  she  is!'  said  I,  thinking  it  was  Westwood  that 
stopped  behind  me;  it  was  the  Judge,  however,  and  as  soon  as 
I  got  down  he  stepped  up,  holding  on  with  one  hand  to  a 
back-stay.  The  ship  was  rising  after  a  pitch,  every  bulkhead 
and  timber  in  her  creaking,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  felt  by 
my  feet  what  all  sailors  feel  the  same  way — she  was  coming 
up  in  the  wind  too  fast  to  mount  with  the  next  wave,  and 
a  regular  comber  it  was  going  to  be.  I  looked  to  the 
wheel — there  was  big  Harry  himself  with  a  grin  on  his 
face,  and  his  eye  on  Sir  Charles,  as  he  coolly  gave  her  half  a 
weather-spoke  more,  and  then  whirled  it  back  again  to  meet 
her.  'For  heaven's  sake,  look  out,  sir!'  exclaimed  I.  'Why, 
so  I  do,'  said  the  Judge,  rather  good-naturedly.  '  'Zounds ! 
what 's —  You  felt  the  whole  ship  stop  creaking  for 
a  moment,  as  she  hung  with  the  last  wave — 'Hold  on!' 
shouted  a  mid — she  gave  a  dull  quiver  from  stem  to  stern, 
and  I  fairly  pulled  the  Judge  close  into  the  bulwark,  just  as 
smash,  like  thunder,  came  a  tremendous  green  sea  over  us, 
three  in  one,  washing  down  into  the  lee  scuppers.  The  old 
gentleman  staggered  up,  dripping  like  a  poodle,  and  unable 
to  see — one  heard  the  water  trickling  through  the  skylights, 
and  stepping  away  downstairs  like  a  fellow  with  iron  heels; 
while  there  was  the  sailor  at  the  wheel,  grinding  down  his 
spokes  in  right  earnest,  looking  aloft  at  the  shaking  fore-top- 
sail, and  the  Indiaman  seemingly  doubtbful  whether  to  fall 
off  or  broach-to.  Up  she  rose  again,  however,  and  drove  round 
with  her  Turkhead  in  the  air,  then  dipped  through  the  spray 
as  gallantly  as  ever. 

"  'Send  that  lubber  from  the  wheel,  Mr.  Macleod !'  said  the 
captain  angrily,  when  he  came  down,  'he  nearly  broached  the 
ship  to  just  now!'  The  'ugly  man'  put  on  a  double-gloomy 
face,  and  grumbled  something  about  her  'steering  wild';  but 
the  knowing  squint  he  gave  Jacobs,  who  relieved  him,  was 
enough  to  show  me  he  was  one  of  the  best  helmsmen  aboard. 
-As  for  the  Judge,  he  had  n't  the  least  notion  that  it  was  any- 
thing more  than  a  natural  mischance,  owing  to  exposing  him- 


;8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

self.  He  eyed  the  bulwark  as  if  he  could  n't  understand  how 
any  wave  was  able  to  rise  over  it,  while  the  captain  was  apolo- 
gizing, and  hoping  he  wouldn't  be  the  worse.  'Eh,  young 
gentleman!'  said  Sir  Charles  of  a  sudden,  turning  round  to 
me,  after  a  glance  from  the  weather  side  to  the  lee  one,  'now 
I  observe  the  circumstances,  the  probability  is  I  should  have 
had  myself  severely  injured  on  the  opposite  side  there,  had  it 
not  been  for  your  presence  of  mind,  sir — eh  ?'  Here  I  made 
a  bow,  and  looked  as  modest  as  I  could.  'I  perceive  you  are 
wet,  young  gentleman,'  said  he  again ;  'you  'd  better  change 
your  dress— eh  ?'  'Thank  you,  sir !'  I  said ;  and  as  he  walked 
off  quite  drenched  to  his  cabin  with  the  captain,  I  heard 
him  remark  it  was  'wonderfully  intelligent  in  a  mere  griffin.' 

"However,  the  wind  soon  got  down  to  a  fine  topgallant 
breeze;  less  of  a  sea  on,  the  clouds  sunk  in  a  long  gray  bank 
to  leeward,  and  the  strange  sail  plain  abeam  of  us — a  large 
ship  steering  seemingly  more  off  the  wind  than  the  'Seringa- 
patam,'  with  topgallant-sails  set — you  could  just  see  the  heads 
of  her  courses,  and  her  black  lower-yards,  when  both  of  us 
rose  together.  Our  first  officer  was  all  alive  at  the  sight;  the 
reefs  were  out  of  our  topsails  already,  and  he  soon  had  us 
ploughing  along  under  ordinary  canvas,  though  still  hugging 
the  wind.  In  a  short  time  the  stranger  appeared  to  take  the 
challenge,  for  he  slanted  his  yards,  clapped  on  royals  and 
hauled  down  a  stun-stail,  heading  our  course,  till  he  was  one 
body  of  white  cloth  on  the  horizon.  For  awhile  we  seemed 
to  gain  on  her;  but  after  dinner,  there  was  the  other  ship's 
hull  up  on  our  lee-bow,  rising  her  white  streak  out  of  the 
water  steadily,  and  just  lifting  at  times  on  the  long  blue  seas ; 
she  was  fore-reaching  on  us  as  plain  as  could  be.  The  mate 
gave  a  stamp  on  the  deck,  and  kept  her  away  a  little  to  set  a 
stun-sail.  'Why,'  said  I  to  Westwood,  'he  '11  fall  to  leeward 
of  himself !'  'She 's  too  much  by  the  head,  Collins,'  said 
Westwood;  'that's  it!'  'Hasn't  he  the  sense  to  take  the 
f orecourse  off  her  ?'  said  I,  'instead  of  packing  more  on ! 
Why  that  craft  weathers  on  us  like  a  schooner — I  wish  you 
and  I  had  the  Indiaman  for  an  hour  or  two,  Tom!' 

"It  was  n't  an  hour  before  we  could  see  the  very  waves 
splashing  up  under  her  black  weather-side,  and  over  her  high 
bows,  as  she  slanted  right  through  it  and  rose  to  windward 
again,  standing  up  to  cross  our  course — a  fine  frigate-built 
Indiaman,  sharper  stemmed  than  her  kind  in  ordinary,  and 
square  in  her  spread ;  one  yard-arm  just  looking  over  the  other 
as  they  ranged  aloft,  and  all  signs  of  a  weatherly  craft. 
'That 's  the  "Duke  o'  Bedford" !'  said  a  sailor  at  the  braces  to 


A  SEA  STORY  79 

his  companions,  'all  oak  planks,  and  not  a  splinter  of  teak  in 
her!  No  chance!'  Out  flew  the  British  colors  from  her 
mizzen-peak,  and  next  the  Company's  striped  ensign  at  her 
fore-royal  mast-head,  as  a  signal  to  speak.  However,  the 
'Seringapatam'  only  answered  by  showing  her  colors,  and  held 
on.  All  of  a  sudden  the  other  Indiaman  was  seen  slowly 
falling  off  before  the  wind,  as  if  in  scorn  at  such  rude  man- 
ners, and  sure  of  passing  us  if  she  chose.  For  a  moment  the 
red  sunset  glanced  through  betwixt  all  three  of  her  masts, 
every  rope  as  fine  as  wire!  then  the  canvas  swung  broad 
against  it,  blood-red  from  the  sun,  and  she  showed  us  her 
quarter-gallery,  with  a  glimpse  of  her  stern-windows  glitter- 
ing— you  even  made  out  the  crowd  of  passengers  and  soldiers 
on  her  poop,  and  a  man  or  two  going  up  her  rigging.  The 
sea  beyond  her  lay  as  blue  as  blue  could  be,  what  with  the 
crimson  streak  that  came  zigzag  on  both  sides  of  her  shadow, 
and  gleamed  along  the  smooth  troughs,  taking  a  crest  or  two 
to  dance  on  by  the  way;  and  what  with  the  rough  of  it  near 
hand,  where  the  tops  of  the  dark  waves  ran  hither  and  thither 
in  broad  white  flakes,  we  surging  heavily  over  them. 

"In  a  few  minutes  more  the  sun  was  not  only  down,  but  the 
clouds  banked  up  to  westward  of  a  deep  purple;  and  almost 
at  once  you  saw  nothing  of  the  other  ship  except  when  a  stray 
streak  somehow  or  other  caught  her  rising,  or  her  mast-heads 
came  across  a  pale  line  in  the  clouds.  The  breeze  got  pleas- 
anter  as  the  night  went  on,  and  the  'Seringapatam'  rattled 
away  in  fine  style,  careening  to  it  by  herself. 

"Well,  you  know,  nothing  could  be  better  for  a  good  under- 
standing and  high  spirits  amongst  us  than  a  fast  course,  fine 
weather,  and  entering  the  tropics.  As  for  the  tropics,  if  you 
have  only  a  roomy  ship  and  a  good  run  of  wind,  as  we  had,  in 
those  latitudes,  everything  outside  of  you  seems  almost  to  have 
double  the  stuff  in  it  that  air  and  water  have  in  other  places; 
while  inside  of  one,  again,  one  felt  twice  the  life  he  had  be- 
fore, and  everybody  else  came  out  newer  a  good  deal  than  on 
the  parlor  rug  at  home.  As  the  days  got  each  hotter  than 
the  last,  and  the  sea  bluer  and  bluer,  we  began  to  think  better 
of  the  heavy  old  'Seringapatam's'  pace,  teak  though  she  was, 
and  her  sole  good  point  right  before  the  wind.  Every  night 
she  lighted  her  binnacle  sooner,  till  deuce  the  bit  of  twilight 
there  was,  and  the  dark  sky  came  down  on  us  like  the  extin- 
guisher over  a  candle.  However, the  look  of  things  round  and 
aloft  made  full  amends  for  it,  as  long  as  we  held  the  'Trades'; 
old  Neptune  shifting  his  scenes  there  so  quickly,  that  nobody- 
missed  getting  weather  and  air,  more  than  he  could  help,  were 


80  THE  GREEN  HAND 

it  only  a  sight  how  the  Indiaman  got  on,  without  trouble  to 
any  living  soul  save  the  man  at  the  wheel,  as  one  long,  big, 
bright  wave  shoved  her  to  another,  and  the  slower  they  rose 
the  more  business  she  seemed  to  do  of  herself.  By  the  time 
they  had  furbished  her  up  at  their  leisure,  the  'Seringapatam' 
had  a  queer  Eastern  style,  too,  throughout;  with  her  grass 
mattings  and  husky  coir  chafing-gear,  the  yellow  varnish 
about  her,  and  her  three  topsails  of  country  canvas,  cut  nar- 
row towards  the  head — bamboo  stun-sail  booms,  and  spare  bits 
of  bamboo  always  ready  for  everything;  besides  the  bilious-like 
gold-colored  patches  here  and  there  in  the  rest  of  her  sails, 
and  the  outlandish  figure-head,  that  made  you  sometimes 
think  there  might  be  twenty  thousand  of  them  under  the 
bows,  dancing  away  with  her  like  Juggernaut's  travelling 
pagoda.  » 

"The  decks  were  lively  enough  to  look  at ;  the  men  working 
quietly  by  twos  and  threes  about  the  bulwarks  all  day  long, 
and  pairs  of  them  to  be  made  out  at  different  points  aloft, 
yarning  away  comfortably  together,  as  the  one  passed  the  ball 
for  the  other's  serving-mallet,  with  now  a  glance  at  the 
horizon,  and  now  a  grin  at  the  passengers  below,  or  a  cautious 
squint  at  the  top  of  the  mate's  cap.  White  awnings  triced 
over  poop  and  quarter-deck,  the  cover  of  the  waist  hammock- 
netting  clean  scrubbed,  and  the  big  shady  main-course  half 
brailed-up,  rustling  and  bulging  above  the  boats  and  booms 
amidships;  every  hatchway  and  door  with  a  round  funnel  of 
a  wind-sail  swelling  into  it,  and  their  bellies  moving  like  so 
many  boa-constrictors  come  down  from  aloft,  and  going  in  to 
catch  cadets.  You  saw  the  bright  white  sky  dazzling  along 
under  the  awning-cheeks,  that  glared  on  it  like  snow ;  and  the 
open  quarter-deck  ports  let  in  so  many  squares  of  shifting 
blue  light,  with  a  draught  of  air  into  the  hot  carronade 
muzzles,  that  seem  to  gasp  for  it,  with  their  red  tompions 
stuck  out  like  tongues.  The  very  look  of  the  lifting  blue 
water  on  the  shady  side  was  refreshing,  and  the  brighter  the 
light  got,  it  grew  the  darker  blue.  You  listened  for  every  cool 
splash  of  it  on  the  bends,  and  every  rustle  of  the  canvas  aloft ; 
and  instead  of  thinking,  as  the  landsmen  did,  of  green 
leaves  and  a  lazy  nook  for  shelter,  why  to  my  fancy  there  's  a 
great  deal  more  satisfaction  in  good  dark  blue,  with  a  spray 
over  the  cat-head  to  show  you  're  going,  and  with  somewhat  to 
go  forj  For  want  of  better,  one  would  have  given  his  ears  to 
jump  in  head-foremost,  and  have  a  first-rate  bathe — the  very 
sea  itself  kept  rising  up  alongside,  to  make  an  easy  dive  for 
one,  and  sinking  into  little  round  troughs  again,  where  the 


A  SEA  STORY  81 

surges  would  have  sprinkled  over  your  head.  Now  and  then  a 
bigger  wave  than  ordinary  would  go  swelling  up,  and  out 
sprang  a  whole  glittering  shower  of  flying-fish,  freckling  the 
dark  side  with  drops,  and  went  flittering  over  into  the  next, 
or  skimming  the  crests  out  of  sight  into  a  hollow. 

"The  writers  and  cadets  were  in  high  feather  at  knowing 
they  were  in  the  same  latitude  as  India,  and  appeared  in  all 
sorts  of  straw  hats,  white  trousers,  and  white  jackets.  Ford 
had  left  off  talking  of  going  aloft  for  awhile,  to  flourish  about 
his  swimming — when  he  looked  over  with  the  surgeon  into  the 
smooth  of  a  hollow,  and  saw  something  big  and  green,  like  aa 
immense  cucumber,  floating  along  within  a  fathom  or  two  of 
the  ship,  deep  down  in  the  blue  water.  While  the  griffin  asked 
what  it  was,  a  little  ripple  broke  above,  a  wet  black  horn  carne 
right  out  of  it,  and  two  fiendish  round  eyes  glared  up  at  us 
ahead  of  it,  as  we  leaned  over  the  quarter,  set  wide  in  a  broad 
black  snout,  shaped  like  a  gravedigger's  shovel;  then  it  sank 
away  into  the  next  wave.  Ford  shivered,  in  spite  of  the  heat. 
'The  devil  ?'  inquired  one  of  the  writers,  coolly,  to  the  surgeon. 
'Not  just  him,'  said  the  Scotchman;  'it 's  only  the  first  shark!' 

"The  young  ladies,  in  their  white  dresses,  now  made  you 
think  of  angels  gliding  about:  as  to  the  only  one  I  had  an 
eye  for,  by  this  time  it  was  n't  of  not  seeing  her  often  enough 
I  had  to  complain,  as  she  seemed  to  delight  in  nothing  else 
but  being  somewhere  or  other  upon  deck,  first  one  part  of  the 
ship,  then  another,  as  if  to  see  how  different  the  lookout 
could  be  made,  or  to  watch  something  in  the  waves  or  the 
horizon.  Instead  of  sitting  with  a  needle  or  a  book,  like  the 
rest,  with  the  corner  of  one  eye  toward  the  gentlemen,  or 
talking  and  giggling  away  at  no  allowance,  she  would  be 
noticing  a  man  aloft  as  if  she  were  there  herself,  or  trying  to 
see  past  a  sail,  as  if  she  fancied  there  was  something  strange 
on  the  other  side  of  it.  The  rest  of  the  girls  appeared  shy  of 
her  at  first,  no  doubt  on  account  of  the  Judge's  separate 
quarters  and  his  grandee  style;  next,  they  made  acquaintance, 
she  speaking  and  smiling  just  as  if  she  had  known  them 
before;  then  again  most  of  them  seemingly  got  jealous 
because  the  cadets  squinted  after  her,  while  old  Rollock  said 
Miss  Hyde  would  be  the  beauty  on  Chowringee  Course,  and 
the  first  officer  was  eternally  pointing  out  things  to  her,  like 
a  showman  at  a  fair. 

"However,  she  seemed  not  to  mind  it  at  all,  either  way; 
those  that  did  talk  to  her,  would  scarce  hear  her  answer  ere 
they  lost  her,  and  there  she  was,  looking  quietly  down  by 
herself  into  the  ripples  alongside;  a  minute  after  she  would 


82  THE  GREEN  HAND 

be  half -playing  with  little  Tommy,  and  making  companions, 
of  Tommy's  young  sisters,  to  see  the  sheep,  the  pigs,  and 
cow,  or  feed  the  poultry.  As  for  the  handsome  'first  officer, 
when  he  caught  occasion  for  his  politeness,  she  took  it 
graciously  enough,  and  listened  to  all  he  said,  till,  of  a 
sudden,  a  smile  would  break  over  her  face,  and  she  seemed  to 
me  to  put  him  off  as  easy  as  a  duchess— on  the  score,  it 
might  be,  of  the  Judge's  looking  for  her  off  the  poop,  or 
something  else  of  the  kind.  'Twas  the  more  curious  how 
much  at  home  she  seemed  amongst  the  men  at  work,  when 
she  chanced  to  go  'forward'  with  Tommy  and  his  sisters,  as 
they  skipped  hither  and  thither:  the  rough,  blue-shirted 
fellows  took  the  quids  out  of  their  cheeks  as  soon  as  they  saw 
the  party  coming  from  aft,  and  began  to  smirk,  shoving  the 
tar-buckets  and  ropes  aside. 

"One  forenoon,  an  old  lady  under  the  poop  awning,  where 
she  and  her  daughter  were  sewing  together  at  a  bright  strip 
of  needlework,  asked  me  to  hold  her  woollen  yarns  for  her  as 
she  balled  them  off — being  the  red  coat  for  a  sepoy  killing  a 
tiger,  which  her  daughter  was  making  in  yellow.  I  could  n't 
well  refuse,  seeing  that  amongst  the  ladies  I  was  reckoned  a 
uiikl,  quiet  young  man.  Even  in  these  days  I  must  say  I  had 
a  good  deal  of  that  look,  and  at  home  they  used  always  to  call 
me  'quiet  Ned.'  My  mother,  good  soul,  never  would  believe 
I  broke  windows,  killed  cats,  or  fought;  and  the  mystery  to 
her  always  is  why  the  neighbors  had  a  spite  at  me,  for  if  I 
had  been  a  wild  boy,  she  said,  or  as  noisy  as  little  Brown  next 
door,  why  she  would  n't  have  objected  to  my  going  to  sea ! — 
that  noisy  little  Brown,  by  the  bye,  is  now  a  fat  banker.  So 
in  I  had  to  stick  my  thumbs  at  arms'-length,  and  stoop  down 
to  the  old  lady,  the  more  with  a  will  since  I  guessed  what  they 
were  talking  of. 

"  'Well  though,  Kate,'  continued  the  old  lady,  winding 
away  at  the  thread,  'you  cannot  deny  her  to  be  a  charming- 
creature,  my  love?'  'Oh,  if  you  mean  pretty!'  said  the  girl, 
'I  don't  want  to  deny  it — not  I,  ma'am — why  should  I,  in- 
deed?' 'Pity  she  's  a  little  light-headed,'  said  her  mother  in  a 
musing  away.  fAffected,you  mean, mother !' said  Miss  Fortes- 
cue,  'and  haughty.'  'Do  you  know,  Kate,'  replied  the  old  lady, 
sighing,  'I  fear  she'll  soon  go  in  India!'  'Go?'  said  the 
daughter,  sharply.  'Yes;  she  won't  stand  the  hot  season  as 
I  did — these  flighty  girls  never  do.  Poor  thing !  she  certainly 
has  n't  your  stamina  now,  my  love !' 

"Here  Miss  Fortescue  bit  her  lip,  tossed  her  head,  and  was 
saying  that  was  n't  what  she  cared  about,  though  in  fact  she 


A  SEA  STORY  83 

looked  ready  to  cry;  when  just  at  that  moment  I  saw  Lota 
Hyde  herself  half  above  the  little  gallery  stair,  gazing  straight 
at  me,  for  the  first  time,  too;  a  curious  kind  of  half -smile  on 
her  face,  as  I  stood  with  my  paws  out,  the  old  lady  jerking 
the  yarn  off  my  wrists,  and  I  staring  right  over  her  big  bonnet 
at  the  sky  astern  of  the  awning,  pretending  not  to  listen.  All 
at  once  my  mouth  fell,  and  before  she  could  turn  her  face 
away  from  the  funny  countenance  I  no  doubt  put  on,  I  saw 
her  cheek  rosy  and  her  eyes  sparkle  with  laughter,  instead  of 
seeming  like  one  to  die  soon. 

"For  my  part  I  couldn't  stand  it  at  all,  so  I  just  bolted 
sheer  round  and  made  three  strides  to  the  poop-ladder,  as 
dignified  as  was  possible,  with  ever  so  many  plies  of  red  yarn 
foul  of  my  wrists,  and  a  big  red  ball  hopping  after  me  when 
I  'd  vanished,  like  a  fellow  running  from  a  hot  shot !  I  dare- 
say they  thought  on  the  poop  I  'd  had  a  stroke  of  the  sun  on 
my  brain,  but  till  next  day  I  kept  clear  of  the  passengers,  and 
took  to  swigging  off  stiff  nor'-westers  of  grog  as  long  as 
Westwood  would  let  me. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"NEXT  evening,  when  the  cuddy  dinner  was  scarce  over,  I 
went  up  to  the  poop,  where  there  was  no  one  to  be  seen;  the 
sun  just  setting  on  our  starboard-quarter  in  a  golden  blaze 
that  stretched  overhead,  with  flakes  of  it  melting,  as  'twere, 
all  over  the  sky  to  port,  and  dropping  in  it  like  threads  of  oil 
in  water;  the  ship  with  a  light  breeze  aft,  and  stun-sails 
packed  large  upon  her,  running  almost  due  for  the  line.  The 
waves  to  westward  were  like  liquid  light,  and  the  eddies 
round  our  counter  came  glittering  out,  the  whole  spread  of 
her  mizzen  and  main  canvas  shining  like  gold  cloth  against 
the  fore ;  then  'twas  but  the  royals  and  skysails  brighter  than 
ever,  as  the  big  round  sun  dipped  down  with  a  red  streak  or 
two,  and  the  red  water-line,  against  his  hot  old  face.  Every 
blue  surge  between  had  a  clear  green  edge  about  its  crest,  the 
hollows  turning  themselves  inside  out  from  deep  purple  into 
bright  blue,  and  outside  in  again — and  the  whole  rim  of  the 
sea  grew  out  cool  and  clear,  away  from  the  ship's  taffrail.  A 
pair  of  sharp-headed  dolphins  that  had  kept  alongside  for  the 
last  few  minutes,  swimming  near  the  surface,  turned  tail 


84  THE  GREEN  HAND 

round  the  moment  I  put  my  nose  over  the  bulwark,  and  shot 
off  like  two  streaks  of  a  rainbow  after  the  flying-fish. 

"I  was  just  wondering  where  Lota  Hyde  could  be,  this 
time,  when  on  a  sudden  I  observed  little  Tommy  poke  his 
curly  head  out  of  the  booby-hatch,  peeping  cautiously  round ; 
seeing  nobody,  however,  save  the  man  at  the  wheel,  who  was 
looking  c  /er  'his  shoulder  at  the  sun,  the  small  rogue  made  a 
bolt  out  of  the  companion,  and  scampererd  aft  under  the 
awning  to  the  Judge's  starboard  door,  with  nothing  on  but  his 
night-shirt.  There  he  commenced  kicking  and  shoving  with 
his  bare  feet  and  arms,  till  the  door  flew  open,  and  over  went 
Tommy  on  his  nose,  singing  out  in  fine  style.  The  next  thing 
I  heard  was  a  laugh  like  the  sound  of  a  silver  bell;  and  just 
as  the  boy's  sister  ran  up  in  a  fright  lest  he  had  gone  over- 
board, Violet  Hyde  came  out  leading  the  little  chap  wrapped 
in  a  long  shawl  that  trailed  astern  of  him,  herself  with  a 
straw  bonnet  barely  thrown  upon  her  head.  "Tommy  says  you 
put  him  in  bed  too  soon,  Jane!'  said  she,  smiling.  'Iss!'  said 
.Master  Thomas,  stoutly,  'go  'way,  Dzane!'  'You  hadn't 
bid  me  good-night — wasn't  that  it,  Tom?  But  oh!  what  a 
sea!'  exclaimed  she,  catching  sight  of  it  under  the  awning. 
The  little  fellow  wanted  to  see  it,  too ;  so  the  young  lady  lifted 
him  up  in  her  arms,  no  small  weight  I  daresay,  and  they  both 
looked  over  the  bulwark :  the  whole  sky  far  out  of  the  awning 
to  westward  being  spotted  with  orange  scales,  turning  almost 
scarlet,  faster  than  the  dusk  from  both  ends  could  close  in; 
the  clear  greenish  tint  of  it  above  the  openings  of  the  canvas 
going  up  into  fathomless  blue  overhead,  the  horizon  purple, 
and  one  or  two  still  black  clouds  tipped  with  vermilion 
against  the  far  sky — while  the  Indiaman  stole  along,  scarce 
plashing  under  her  bends. 

"Every  now  and  then  you  heard  a  whizz  and  a  flutter,  as 
the  flying-fish  broke  out  of  a  bigger  surge,  sometimes  just 
missing  the  ship's  side;  at  last  two  or  three  fell  over  the 
mizzen  chains,  and  pop  came  one  all  of  a  sudden  right  into 
the  white  breast  of  Miss  Hyde's  dress  inside  her  scarf,  where 
only  the  wings  kept  it  from  disappearing.  She  started,  Jane 
screamed,  but  the  little  boy  coolly  pulled  it  out,  commencing 
to  overhaul  it  in  great  delight.  'Oh  fat  a  funny  ickoo  bird!' 
shouted 'he;  'it's  fell  down  out  of  'ese  t'ees!'  looking  aloft. 
'No,  no,'  said  Miss  Hyde,  laughing,  as  she  drew  her  shoulders 
together  with  a  shiver — 'birds'  noses  don't  drop  water !  'Twill 
die  if  you  don't  put  it  in  again,  Tommy — 'tis  a  fish!'  'A 
fish!'  said  he,  opening  his  eyes  wider,  and  smacking  his  lips. 
*Yes,  Tommy  eat  it  for  my  beckfust!'  However,  the  young 


A  SEA  STORY  85 

lady  took  it  out  of  his  hand,  and  dropped  it  overboard;  on 
which  the  small  ogre  went  oti'  rather  discontented,  and  kissed 
her  more  as  a  favor  than  otherwise.  It  was  almost  dark 
already,  the  water  shining  up  in  the  ship's  wake,  and  the  stars 
coming  out  aloft;  so  I  was  left  wondering  at  the  impudence 
of  flying-fish,  and  the  blessings  of  being  a  fat  little  imp  in  a 
frock  and  trousers,  compared  with  this  puzzle  of  a  'traverse,' 
betwixt  being  a  third  lieutenant  and  hailing  for  a  'griffin.' 

"The  night  following,  after  a  sultry  hot  day,  the  wind  had 
varied  a  good  deal,  and  the  ship  was  running  almost  close- 
hauled  on  a  warm  south-easterly  breeze,  with  somewhat  of  a 
swell  in  the  water.  Early  in  the  first  watch  there  was  a  heavy 
shower,  after  which  I  went  on  deck,  leaving  Westwood  at  his 
book.  The  half -moon  was  just  getting  down  to  leeward,  clear 
of  a  ragged  dark  cloud,  and  a. long  space  of  faint  white  light 
spread  away  on  the  horizon,  behind  the  sheets  of  the  sails 
hauled  aft;  so  that  you  just  saw  a  sort  of  glimmer  under 
them,  on  the  black  heave  of  the  swell  between.  Every  time 
she  rolled  to  leeward  on  it,  a  gleam  of  the  moonshine  slipped 
inside  the  shadow  of  her  high  bulwarks,  from  one  wet 
carronade  to  another,  and  went  glistening  over  the  moist 
decks,  and  among  the  boats  and  booms,  that  looked  like  some 
big  brute  or  other  lying  stretched  out  on  his  paws,  till  you 
saw  the  men's  faces  on  the  forecastle  as  if  they  were  so  many 
mutineers  skulking  in  the  dark  before  they  rush  aft:  then  up 
she  righted  again,  and  all  was  dark  inboard. 

"The  awnings  were  off,  and  the  gruff  third  mate  creaking 
slowly  to  and  fro  in  his  soaked  shoes ;  the  Judge  stood  talking 
with  the  captain  before  one  of  the  round-house  doors ;  directly 
after  I  noticed  a  young  lady's  figure  in  a  white  dress  close  by 
the  mizzen-rigging,  apparently  intent  on  the  sea  to  leeward. 
'Well,  now  or  never!'  thought  I,  stepping  over  in  the  shadow 
of  the  main-sheet.  I  heard  her  draw  a  long  breath ;  and  then, 
without  turning  her  head  at  the  sound  of  my  foot,  'I  wonder 
if  there  is  anything  so  strange  in  India,'  exclaimed  she;  'is. 
there  now  ?'  'No,  no,  madam !'  said  I,  starting,  and  watching 
as  the  huge  cloud  grew  darker,  with  a  rusty  stain  in  it,  while 
three  or  four  broad-backed  swells,  one  beyond  the  other,  rose 
up  black  against  the  setting  moon,  as  if  they  'd  plunge  right 
into  her.  Miss  Hyde  turned  round,  with  one  hand  on  the 
bulwark  to  steady  herself,  and  half  looked  at  me.  'I  thought,' 
said  she — 'where  is  papa? — I  thought  my  father —  I 
begged  pardon  for  intruding,  but  next  minute  she  appeared 
to  have  forgotten  it,  and  said,  in  a  musing  sort  of  way,  partly 
to  herself,  partly  to  me — 'I  seem  to  remember  it  all — as  if  I 


86  THE  GREEN  HAND 

just  saw  that  black  wave — and — that  monstrous  cloud  over 
again!  Oh!  really  that  is  the  very  same  top  it  had  then,  see!' 
— 'Yes,'  said  I,  leaning  forward,  with  a  notion  I  had  seen  it 
before,  though  heaven  knew  when.  'Did  you  ever  read  about 
Columbus  and  Vasco  di  Gama?'  asked  she,  though  directly 
afterwards  her  features  broke  into  a  laughing  smile  as  she 
caught  sight  of  mine — at  the  thought,  I.  suppose,  of  my 
ridiculous  figure  the  last  time  she  saw  me.  'No,  never,' 
said  1 ;  'but  look  to  windward,  ma'am ;  '  't  is  coming  on  a 
squall  again.  For  heaven's  sake,  Miss  Hyde,  go  in !  We  're 
to  have  another  shower,  and  that  pretty  thick.  I  wonder 
the  mate  don't  stow  the  royals.'  'What  do  you  meanf 
said  she,  turning.  'Why  are  you  alarmed,  sir?  I  see  noth- 
ing particular.'  The  sea  was  coming  over,  in  a  smooth, 
round-backed  swell,  out  of  a  dirty,  thick  jumble  of  a  sky, 
with  a  pitch-black  line  behind — what  Ford  would  have  called 
'wild'  by  daylight;  but  the  young  lady's  eye  naturally  saw 
no  more  in  it  than  a  dark  night. 

"Here  the  Judge  came  over  from  the  binnacle,  giving  me 
a  nod,  as  much  as  to  say  he  recollected  me.  'I  am  afraid, 
sir,'  said  I,  'if  you  don't  make  haste,  you  '11  get  wet.'  'How !' 
said  Sir  Charles,  '  't  is  an  exceedingly  pleasant  night,  I 
think,  after  such  a  very  hot  day.  They  don't  know  how  to 
cool  rooms  here — this  perpetual  wood  retains  heat  till  mid- 
night, sir!  That  detestable  pitch  precludes  walking — the  sea 
absolutely  glares  like  tin.  Why  do  you  suppose  so  now — 
eh,  young  gentleman?'  said  he  again,  turning  back,  all  of  a 
sudden,  with  his  daughter  on  his  arm. 

"'Why — why — why,  Sir  Charles,'  said  I,  hesitating  be- 
twixt sham  innocence  and  scarce  knowing  what  reason  to 
give;  'why,  I  just  think — that  is  to  say,  it's  my  feeling, 
you  see.'  'Ah,  ah,  I  do  see,'  replied  the  Judge,  good  humor- 
edly;  'but  you  shouldn't  ape  the  sailor,  my  good  fellow, 
as  I  fancy  you  do  a  little.  I  don't  particularly  admire  the 
class,  but  they  always  have  grounds  for  what  they  say 
in  their  profession,  frequently  even  acute.  At  your  aunt's, 
Lady  Somers's  now,  Violet,  who  was  naturally  so  surrounded 
by  naval  officers,  what  I  had  to  object  to  was,  not  their 
want  of  intelligence,  but  their  forwardness.  Eh — eh !  who — 
what  is  thai?'  exclaimed  he  suddenly,  looking  straight  up  into 
the  dark,  as  five  or  six  large  drops  fell  on  his  face  out  of  it. 
All  at  once  you  heard  a  long  sigh,  as  it  were,  in  the  canvas 
aloft,  a  clap  like  two  or  three  carronades  fired  off,  as  all  the 
sails  together  went  in  to  the  mast — then  a  hum  in  the  air 
far  and  near — and  whish !  rush !  came  the  rain  in  sheets  and 


A  SEA  STORY  87 

bucketfuls  off  the  edge  of  a  cioud  over  our  very  heads, 
plashing  and  washing  about  the  deck  with  coils  of  rope; 
ship  rolling  without  a  breath  of  wind  in  her  sails;  sails 
flapping  out  and  in;  the  rain  pouring  down  ten  times 
faster  than  the  scupper-holes  would  let  it  out,  and  smoking 
gray  in  the  dark  hollow  of  the  swells,  that  sank  under  the 
force  of  it. 

"The  first  officer  came  on  deck,  roaring  in  the  hubbub 
to  clew  up  and  furl  the  royals  before  the  wind  came  again. 
It  got  pitch-dark,  you  could  n't  see  your  hand  before  you, 
and  we  had  all  lost  mark  of  each  other,  as  the  men  came 
shoving  in  between  us.  However,  I  knew  whereabouts  Miss 
Hyde  was,  so  I  felt  along  the  larboard  rigging  till  I  found 
a  back-stay  clasped  in  her  hands,  and  the  soaked  sleeve 
of  her  muslin  dress,  while  she  leaned  back  on  a  car- 
ronade,  to  keep  from  being  jerked  down  in  the  water  that 
washed  up  over  her  feet  with  every  roll,  full  of  ropes  and  a 
capstan  bar  or  two.  Without  saying  a  word,  I  took  up 
Lota  in  my  arms,  and  carried  her  aft  in  spite  of  the  roll 
and  confusion,  steering  for  the  glimmer  of  the  binnacle, 
till  I  got  her  inside  one  of  their  own  cabins,  where  there 
was  a  lamp  swinging  aboiit,  and  laid  her  on  a  sofa.  I  felt 
somehow  or  other,  as  I  went,  that  the  sweet  creature  had  n't 
fainted,  though  all  the  while  as  still  as  death;  accordingly 
I  made  off  again  at  once  to  find  the  Judge,  who,  no  doubt, 
was  calling  for  his  daughter,  with  a  poor  chance  of  being 
heard. 

"In  a  minute  or  two  more  the  rain  was  over;  it  was 
light  enough  to  make  out  the  horizon,  as  the  belt  of  foam 
came  broadening  out  of  it;  the  ship  gave  two  or  three  wild 
bounds,  the  wheel  jolting  and  creaking;  up  swelled  the  black 
waves  again  over  one  side,  the  topsails  flapped  full  as  the 
squall  rushed  roaring  into  them,  and  away  she  rose;  then 
tore  into  it  like  a  scared  horse,  shaking  her  head  and 
throwing  the  snow-white  foam  into  her  fore-chains.  'T  was 
as  much  as  three  men  could  do  to  grind  down  her  wheel, 
leaning  and  grinning  to  it;  you  saw  just  the  Indiaman 
herself,  scarce  so  far  forward  as  the  booms,  and  the  broad 
swell  mounting  with  her  out  of  the  dark,  as  she  slowly 
squared  yards  before  it,  taking  in  to'gallant-sails  while  she 
did  so  with  her  topsail-yards  lowered  on  the  caps.  How- 
ever, the  look  of  it  was  worse  than  its  force,  else  the  swell 
would  n't  have  risen  so  fast,  as  every  sailor  knew ;  and 
by  two  bells  of  the  mid-watch  she  was  bowling  under  all,  as 
easy  as  before,  the  mate  of  the  watch  setting  a  stun-sail. 


88  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"When  I  went  down,  shaking  myself  like  a  Newfoundland, 
Westwood  was  swinging  in  his  cot  with  a  book  turned  to 
the  lamp,  reading  'Don  Quixote'  in  Spanish.  'Bless  me, 
Ned !'  said  he,  'you  seem  to  like  it !  paying  fair  and  weather- 
ing it  too!'  'Only  a  little  adventure,  Westwood!'  said  I, 
laughing.  'Why,  here  have  I  been  enjoying  better  ad- 
ventures than  we  seem  likely  to  have,'  said  he,  'without 
stirring  a  hand,  except  for  the  wild  swings  you  gave  me 
from  deck.  Here's  "Don  Quixote"-  'Don  Quixote  be 

hanged!'  said  I:  'I'd  rather  wear  ship  in  a  gale,  myself, 
than  all  the  humbug  that  never  happened — out  of  an  old 
play-book.  What 's  the  use  of  thinking  you  see  service,  when 
you  don't?  After  all,  you  couldn't  expect  much  till  we've 
crossed  the  Line — nothing  like  the  tropics,  or  the  Cape,  for 
thickening  a  plot,  Tom.  Then  there's  the  Mozambique, 
you  know!'  'Well,  we'll  see,'  said  Westwood,  lazily,  and 
half  asleep. 

"The  whole  next  day  would  have  been  weary  enough 
in  itself,  as  not  a  single  glimpse  of  the  fair  Lota  could  I 
catch;  and  the  weather,  between  the  little  puffs  of  air 
and  squalls  we  had,  was  fit  to  have  melted  poor  Ford 
to  the  bone,  but  for  the  rain.  However,  that  day  was 
sufficient,  by  iits  and  starts,  to  bring  us  up  to  the  Line;  and 
before  crossing  it,  which  we  did  by  six  o'clock  in  one  of 
the  black  squalls,  half  of  the  passengers  had  been  pretty 
well  ducked  by  Neptune  and  his  gang  besides. 

"Rare  fun  we  had  of  it  for  three  or  four  hours  on 
end;  the  cadets  and  writers  showing  fight  in  a  body,  the 
Yankee  being  regularly  keelhauled,  tarred,  and  feathered, 
though  I  believe  he  had  crossed  the  Line  twice  by  land; 
while  the  Scotch  surgeon  was  found  out,  in  spite  his  caution, 
never  to  have  been  lower  than  the  West  Indies — so  he  got 
double  ration.  A  word  to  Jacobs  took  Westwood  scot-free; 
but,  for  my  own  part,  wishing  of  course  to  blind  the 
officers,  I  let  the  men  stick  the  tar  brush  in  my  mouth 
the  first  word  I  spoke,  and  was  shaved  like  the  mischief,  not 
to  speak  of  plumping  afterwards  behind  the  studding-sail 
caitain  into  three  feet  water,  where  I  absolutely  saved 
Ford  from  drowning,  lie  being  as  sick  as  a  dog. 

"Late  at  night  the  breeze  held  and  freshened,  and,  being 
Saturday  night,  the  gentlemen  in  the  cuddy  kept  it  up- 
roariously after  their  troubles;  drinking  and  singing  songs 
—Tom  Little's  and  your  sentimental  affairs;  till,  being  a 
bit  flushed  myself,  I  was  on  the  point  of  giving  them 
one  of  Dibdin's,  when  I  thought  better  of  it,  and  went  on 


A  SEA  STORY  89 

deck  instead.  The  mate  was  there,  however,  and  his  red- 
whiskered  Scotch  sub  with  the  twisted  snout,  leaning  on 
the  capstan  with  their  noses  together.  The  night  was  dark, 
and  the  ship  made  a  good  noise  through  the  water;  so 
'Hang  it !'  thought  I,  'somehow  or  other  I  '11  have  out  a 
stave  of  "Black-eyed  Susan,"  at  the  top  of  my  pipe,  though 
overboard  I  go  for  it!' 

"There  was  nn  old  square  topsail-yard  slung  alongside 
to  larboard,  as  far  as  the  quarter-boat,  and  I  went  up  to 
the  poop  to  get  over  and  sit  on  it;  especially  when  I 
found  Ford's  friend,  the  fat  midshipman,  was  in  the  boat 
itself,  'caulking'*  his  watch  out,  as  he  did  every  night  in 
a  fresh  place. 

"I  was  no  sooner  there  again,  than  I  saw  a  light  in  the 
aftermost  gallery  window,  and  took  it  in  my  head  if  I  sung 
there,  why,  in  place  of  being  afraid  there  was  some  one  under 
her  casement,  that  and  the  wind  and  water  together  would 
put  her  to  sleep,  if  she  was  the  worse  of  last  night — in 
fact,  I  may  say  I  was  a  little  (slewed'-\  at  the  time.  How 
to  get  there,  though,  was  the  matter,  it  being  rather  a 
nice  practice  to  sling  over  an  Indiaman's  quarter-gallery, 
bulging  out  from  her  steep  counter;  accordingly,  first  I  took 
the  end  of  a  coil  round  the  mizzen-shrouds,  and  made  a 
bowline-knot  to  creep  -down  the  stern-mouldings  with,  and 
then  swing  free  by  help  of  a  guide-line  to  boot.  Just 
before  letting  go  of  the  taffrail,  another  fancy  struck  me, 
to  hitch  the  guide-line  to  the  trigger  of  the  life-buoy  that 
hung  ready  for  use ;  not  that  I  'd  the  notion  of  saving 
myself  if  I  went  overboard,  but  just  because  of  the  good 
joke  of  a  fellow  slipping  his  own  life-buoy,  and  then  cruising 
away,  with  a  light  at  his  mast-head,  back  to  the  Line. 

"  'T  was  curious,  but  when  I  was  'two  or  three  sheets 
in  the  wind/  far  from  growing  stupid,  I  used  always  to  get 
a  sort  of  cunning  that  would  have  made  me  try  and  cheat 
a  purser;  so  away  I  lowered  myself  till  the  rope  was  taut, 
when  I  slipped  easy  enough  round  the  counter,  below  the 
window.  Every  time  she  rolled,  out  I  swung,  and  in  again, 
till  I  steadied  with  my  feet,  slacking  off  the  other  line  from 
one  hand.  Then  I  began  to  give  voice  like  old  Boreas 
himself,  with  a  sort  of  a  notion,  at  each  shove  I  got,  how 
I  was  rocking  the  Indiaman  like  a  big  cradle,  as  Jacobs 
did  his  baby.  All  at  once  I  felt  the  rope  was  giving  off 
the  belaying-pin,  till  I  came  down  with  a  jolt  under  the 
window  below;  only  singing  the  louder,  as  it  was  half  open, 

•  Sleeping  on  deck.       f  Anglic^,  not  sober. 


9o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

and  I  could  just  look  in.  With  every  wash  of  the  waves 
the  water,  a  couple  of  fathoms  under  my  feet,  blazed  up 
like  fire,  and  the  wake  ran  boiling  out  from  the  black  stern 
by  the  rudder,  like  the  iron  out  of  a  furnace ;  now  and  then 
there  came  a  sulky  flare  of  dumb  lightning  to  leeward,  and 
showed  the  black  swell  out  of  the  dark  for  miles. 

"I  fancied  I  didn't  care  for  the  water,  but  I  began  to 
think  'twas  rather  uncomfortable  the  notion  of  sousing 
into  such  an  infernally  flame-looking  stream;  I  was  actually 
in  a  fright  at  being  boiled,  and  not  able  to  swim.  So  I 
dropped  chorus  to  haul  myself  up,  when  of  a  sudden,  by 
the  lamp  inside  the  stateroom,  I  saw  Winterton  and  Ford 
come  reeling  in,  one  after  the  other,  as  drunk  as  lords. 
Winterton  swayed  about  quietly  on  his  legs  for  a  minute,  and 
then  looked  gravely  at  Ford,  as  if'  he'd  got  a  dreadful 
secret  to  make  known. 

"  'Ford !'  said  he.  'Ay,'  said  Ford,  feeling  to  haul  off  his 
trousers — 'ay — avast  you — blub-lub-lubber !'  I  say,  Ford!' 
said  the  cadet  again,  in  a  melancholy  way,  fit  to  melt  a 
marline  spike,  and  then  fell  to  cry — Ford  all  the  time 
pulling  off  his  trousers,  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  till  he 
got  on  a  chest,  and  contrived  to  flounder  into  his  cot  with 
his  coat  on.  After  that  he  stretched  over  to  put  the  lamp 
out,  carefully  enough,  but  he  let  fall  his  cigar,  and  one  leg 
of  his  nankeen  trousers  hung  out  of  the  cot,  just  scraping 
the  deck  every  time  he  swung.  I  watched,  accordingly, 
holding  on  by  the  sill,  till  I  saw  a  spark  catch  in  the  stuff, 
and  there  it  was,  swinging  slowly  away  in  the  dark,  with 
a  fiery  ring  creeping  round  the  leg  of  the  trousers,  ready  to 
blow  into  a  flame  as  soon  as  it  had  a  clear  swing.  No 
doubt  the  fool  would  come  down  safe  enough  himself 
with  his  cot;  but  I  knew  Winterton  kept  powder  in  the 
cabin  sufficient  to  blow  up  the  deck  above,  where  that  sweet 
girl  was  sleeping  at  the  moment.  'Confound  it,'  I  thought, 
quite  cooled  by  the  sight,  'the  sooner  I  get  on  deck  the 
better.' 

"However,  you  may  fancy  my  thoughts  when  I  heard 
men  at  the  taffrail,  hauling  on  the  spanker-boom  guys; 
so  I  held  on  till  they  'd  go  forward  again ;  suddenly  the 
mate's  voice  sung  out  to  know  'what  lubber  had  belayed  the 
slack  of  a  topsail  clewline  here?'  Down  I  went  with  the 
word,  as  the  rope  was  thrown  off,  with  just  time  to  save 
myself  by  a  clutch  of  the  port-sill  at  arm's  length — where, 
heaven  knew,  I  couldn't  keep  long.  The  mate  looked  over 
and  caught  sight  of  my  face,  by  a  flicker  of  the  summer 


A  SEA  STORY  91 

lightning,  as  I  was  slipping  down:  I  gave  him  one  curse 
as  loud  as  I  could  hail,  and  let  go  the  moulding.  'Man 
overboard,'  shouted  he,  and  the  men  after  him;  however,  I 
wasn't  altogether  overboard  yet,  for  I  felt  the  other  part 
of  the  rope  bring  me  up  with  a  jerk  and  a  swing  right 
under  the  quarter-boat,  where  I  clung  like  a  cat. 

"How  to  get  on  deck  again  without  being  seen  was 
the  question,  and  anxious  enough  I  was  at  thought  of  the 
burning  train  inside,  when  out  jumped  some  one  over  my 
head;  I  heard  a  splash  in  the  water,  and  saw  a  fellow's 
face  go  sinking  into  the  bright  wake  astern,  while  the 
boat  itself  was  coming  down  over  me  from  the  davits.  I 
still  had  the  guide-line  from  the  life-buoy  round  my  wrist, 
and  one  moment's  thought  was  enough  to  make  me  give 
it  a  furious  tug,  when  away  I  sprang  clear  into  the  eddies. 
The  first  thing  I  saw  at  coming  up  was  the  ship's  lighted 
stern-windows  driving  to  leeward,  then  the  life-buoy  flaring 
and  dipping  on  a  swell,  and  a  bare  head,  with  two  hands, 
sinking  a  few  feet  off.  I  made  for  him  at  once,  and  held 
him  up  by  the  hair  as  I  struck  out  for  the  buoy.  A  couple 
of  minutes  after,  the  men  in  the  boat  had  hold  of  us  and 
it;  the  ship  came  sheering  round  to  the  wind,  and  we  were 
very  shortly  on  board  again. 

"  'Confound  it,  Simm,  what  took  you  overboard,  man  ?' 
asked  the  mid  in  the  boat  at  his  dripping  messmate,  the  fat 
reefer.  'Oh,  bother!'  said  he,  'if  you  must  know — why,  I 
mistook  the  quarter-boats;  I  thought 't  was  the  other  I  was  in 
when  you  kicked  up  that  shindy.  Now  I  remember,  though, 
there  was  too  much  rain  in  it  for  comfort.'  'Well,  youngster,' 
said  Tom,  the  man-o'-war's-man,  'this  here  gentleman  saved 
your  life,  anyhow !'  'Why,  mate,'  whispered  Bill,  '  't  is  the 
wery  same  greenhorn  we  puckalowed  so  to-day.  Did  n't  he 
jump  sharp  over,  too  ?'  'Pull !  for  your  lives,  my  lads !'  said 
I,  looking  up  at  Ford's  window;  and  the  moment  we  got  on 
deck,  below  I  ran  into  the  stateroom,  and  cut  Ford  down 
by  the  heels,  with  the  tinder  hanging  from  him,  and  one 
leg  of  his  trousers  half  gone.  As  for  the  poor  reefer,  a 
pretty  blowing  up  he  got;  the  men  swore  I  had  jumped 
overboard  after  him,  and  the  mate  would  have  it  that,  in- 
stead of  sleeping,  he  wanted  to  get  into  the  Judge's  cabins; 
especially  when  next  day  Sir  Charles  was  in  a  rage  at  his 
daughter  being  disturbed  by  some  sailor  or  other  singing 
outside. 


92  THE  GREEN  HAND 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"You  must  surely  be  tired  by  this  time,  ma'am,  of  this 
long-winded  yarn  of  mine?"  said  the  commander  of  the 
"Gloucester"  to  the  elder  of  his  fair  listeners,  next  evening 
they  met  with  the  evident  expectation  of  hearing  further; 
"but  after  all,  this  voyage  must  be  dull  work  for  you  at 
present,  so  I  dare  say  you  are  amused  with  anything  by 
way  of  a  change. 

"Well,  one  morning,  when  Westwood  and  I  went  on  deck, 
it  was  a  stark,  staring  calm;  as  dead  as  a  mill-pond,  save 
for  the  long  winding  heave  that  seemed  to  come  miles  up 
out  of  the  stale  blue  water,  and  get  tired  with  the  journey — 
from  the  horizon  to  us  in  one  lazy  coil,  and  on  every  side, 
just  serving  to  jerk  the  wheel  a  spoke  back  and  for- 
ward, with  nobody  at  it.  The  very  bits  of  pumpkin-paring 
and  fat  which  the  cook  had  thrown  overboard  the  night  be- 
fore lay  still  alongside,  with  an  oily  track  oozing  round 
about  them  from  the  'slush'* — the  sails  hanging  from  the 
yards,  up  and  down,  like  clothes  on  a  screen — and  when  you 
looked  over  the  side  away  from  the  sun,  you  saw  your  own 
face,  like  a  fellow's  that  had  been  long  drowned,  peering 
back  at  you,  as  it  were,  round  the  keel — in  fact,  there  you 
scarce  knew  where  the  water  was. 

"Somehow  or  other  the  ship  kept  sheering  round,  by  little 
and  little,  till,  although  one  had  chosen  a  shady  spot,  all  of  a 
sudden  the  blazing  sun  came  right  into  his  eyes;  or  the 
single  streak  of  white  cloud  lying  behind  you,  to  starboard,  a 
while  after  stuck  itself  before  your  face  from  the  very  oppo- 
site quarter — you  fancying,  too,  you  had  your  eye  the  whole 
time  on  the  same  bit  of  water.  Being  lost  in  a  wood  or 
a  fog  was  nothing  to  it,  especially  with  the  sun  at  noon 
drawn  up  right  overhead,  so  that  you  couldn't  look  aloft, 
and  staring  down  into  the  sea  out  of  a  pool  of  bright 
light;  'like  one  tremendously  keen  little  eye,'  as  some  of 
the  passengers  said,  'examining  a  big  blind  one.'  'Why,' 
put  in  one  of  the  writers,  T  fear  he  wants  to  take  the 
mote  out  of  his  brother's  eye — this  vessel,  that  is  to  say!' 
'Hang  it,  I  hope  not!'  said  Winterton,  rather  alarmed.  'He 
promises  well  to  do  it,  then,'  said  another  young  civilian, 
'but  I  wish  he  'd  take  the  learn  out  of  his"  own  first,  ha, 
Smythe?'  However,  few  men  have  the  spirit  to  laugh  at  little 

•Cook's  grease. 


A  SEA  STORY  93 

in  a  calm  near  the  Line,  so  Smythe  gave  no  more  than 
a  sickly  grin,  while  West  wood  looked  the  clergyman  very 
properly. 

"Both  passengers  and  crew,  all  of  us  that  could  swim, 
gave  wistful  looks  now  and  then  alongside  at  the  water, 
hot  as  it  seemed,  for  a  bathe;  just  floating  up,  as  it  were, 
with  the  mere  huge  size  of  it,  under  a  dazzle  of  light,  and 
so  blue  and  smooth  you  could  n't  see  a  hair's  breadth  be- 
low; while,  a  bit  off,  the  face  of  it  and  the  very  air  ap- 
peared to  dance  and  quiver  like  little  streams  of  glass.  How- 
ever, all  thoughts  of  bathing  were  put  out  of  your  head 
when  you  saw  the  black  three-cornered  affair,  with  a  rake 
aft,  somewhat  like  the  end  of  a  scythe,  that  went  steering 
slowly  round  us;  then  cruising  hither  and  thither,  till  its 
infernal  horn  was  as  dry  as  the  deck;  and  at  times  driving 
straight  off,  as  if  it  ran  in  a  groove  through  the  level 
surface;  when  back  again  it  came  from  the  other  side, 
creeping  lazily  towards  us,  till  it  sank  with  a  light  tip, 
and  a  circle  or  two  on  the  blue  water.  The  hook  and  chain 
were  hanging  up  and  down  over  the  taffrail,  with  the 
piece  of  rank  pork  looking  green  in  the  shadow  near  the 
rudder,  where  you  read  the  white  figures  of  her  draught  as 
plain  as  in  dock;  but  the  shark,  a  fifteen-feet  customer, 
if  he  was  an  inch,  was  too  knowing  to  have  touched  it. 

"  'Pity  he 's  gone,  Collins,'  said  Ford  to  me,  after  we  had 
watched  him  at  last  out  of  sight;  'wasn't  there  any  plan 
of  catching  him,  I  wonder!  Now  we  shall  have  a  bathe 
though,  at  any  rate.'  'Gone?'  said  I,  'he  won't  leave  us  in 
a  hurry,  if  we  don't  leave  him!'  'Poh,  man!'  said  Ford, 
'I  tell  you  he 's  tired  out  and  gone  away !'  Five  minutes 
after  Ford  was  leaning  over  the  quarter  and  wiping  his 
face,  while  he  fanned  himself  with  his  straw  hat,  which 
fell  out  of  his  hand  into  the  water.  He  had  got  over  into 
the  mizzen-ehains  to  throw  a  line  round  it,  when  he  gave 
a  loud  shriek,  and  jumped  in-board  again.  Two  or  three 
fathoms  of  green  came  up  from  the  keel,  balancing  on  a 
pair  of  broad  fins  under  Ford's  hat,  and  a  big  round  snout 
touched  it;  then  a  dozen  feet  of  white  belly  gleamed  in  the 
water,  the  hat  gave  a  gulp  as  it  was  drawn  down,  and  a 
few  small  air-bells  rose  to  the  top.  'He  prefers  some  flavors 
to  others,  you  see,  Ford,'  said  I.  "T  is  the  second  hat 
I  've  seen  you  lose :  I  hope  your  head  won't  be  in  the  third; 

but  you  mariners,  you  see '  However,  Ford  had  bolted 

to  his  cabin. 

"On  turning   round   I   perceived   Miss   Hyde,   with   the 


94  THE  GREEN  HAND 

general's  lady,  under  the  awning  on  the  other  side,  where  the 
old  lady  leaned  against  a  cushion,  with  her  hands  crossed 
and  her  bonnet-strings  loose — though  a  strapping  raw-boned 
Irishwoman  she  was — and  kept  Miss  Hyde's  maid  fanning 
her  from  behind  with  a  large  feather  punkah.  The  old 
lady  had  started  at  Ford's  cry,  and  gave  a  look  round  at 
me,  half  fierce  and  half  orderly,  as  if  she  expected  to 
know  what  was  the  matter  at  once.  'Only  my  friend  lost 
his  hat,  ma'am/  said  I,  stepping  forward.  'These  cadets  are 
so  'tagious,  my  dear!'  said  she  to  the  young  lady,  failing 
back  again  without  the  least  more  notice  of  me.  'They 
plague  the  life  of  me,  but  the  brigadier  can't  drill  them 
as  he  would  if  this  were  a  troopship — I  wish  he  could,  for 
the  sake  of  the  profession ! — now,  my  dear,  dho  kape  out 
of  the  s-hun !'  However,  I  stuck  where  I  was,  fancying  I 
caught  the  slightest  bit  of  an  arch  twinkle  in  the  corner  of 
the  young  lady's  eye,  though  she  didn't  look  at  me.  'Keep 
going,  can't  ye !'  said  the  old  lady,  crossly  to  the  maid.  'No, 
ma'am,  indeed!'  said  the  girl,  glancing  over  to  her  young 
mistress,  'I  'm  ready  to  drop !'  'Send  up  papa's  kitmagar, 
then,  Wilkins/  said  Miss  Hyde;  and  the  girl  went  off 
toward  the  gallery  stair,  muttering  she  'hoped  she  did  n't 
come — here  to  be- — made  a  black  Indian  slave  of — at  least  to  a 
old' — the  remainder  being  lost  in  the  stair. 

"As  I  leaned  on  the  rail-netting,  behind  the  old  lady,  T 
happened  to  tread  on  her  fat  pug-dog's  tail,  whereupon  the 
ugly  brute  made  its  teeth  meet,  without  further  notice, 
in  the  small  of  my  leg,  after  which  it  gave  a  yelp,  and 
ran  beneath  the  chairs.  'What's  that,  Die?'  exclaimed  its 
mistress;  'good  hivens!  is  that  same  griffin  here  yet,  my  dear! 
Hadn't  he  ayven  the  spirit  to  take  a  hint? — I  say,  was  it 
you  hurt  Dianny,  young  man?'  'Oh  dear  no,  ma'am,  not 
for  the  world !'  said  I,  looking  at  my  trousers,  hard  as  the 
thing  was  to  stand,  but  thinking  to  smooth  her  over,  though 
I  wasn't  quite  up  to  the  old  Irishwoman  it  turned  out.  'Ha ! 
ha!  so  she  bit  you?'  said  she,  with  a  flash  of  her  hawk's 
eye,  and  leaning  back  again  coolly.  'If  he'd  only  kicked 
poor  Die  for  it  under  my  chair,  now,  I  'd  have  forgiven  him ; 
but  he  hadn't  ayven  the  heart  at  the  time  to  drop  her 
a  curse — and  I  thinking  all  the  while,  too,  by  the  luke 
of  his  eye  he  was  from  the  county  Clare!  My  heart  warms 
to  the  county  Clare  always,  because,  although  I  'm  not  Irish 
myself,  you  know,  I'd  once  a  schoolfellow  was  born  in  it— 
without  counting  all  my  relations!  Oh,  the  smooth  spal- 
peen!' continued  she,  harder  than  before,  glancing  at  me 


A  SEA  STORY  95 

as  I  looked  all  abroad  from  one  to  the  other;  'listen,  niver 
you  let  that  fellow  spake  to  you,  my  dear !   he  's  too — 
But  here  I  walked  quietly  off  to  put  the  poop's  length  be- 
twixt  me  and  the  talking  old  vixen,  cursing  her  and  her 
dog  both,  quite  enough  to  have  pleased  her  Irish  fancy. 

"On  the  quarter-deck,  the  Judge  and  the  general  seemed 
really  to  enjoy  the  heat  and  quiet,  sitting  with  their  feet  up 
before  the  round-house,  and  smoking  their  long  red  twisted 
hookahs,  while  they  watched  the  wreaths  of  smoke  go  whirl- 
ing straight  up  from  the  bowls  to  the  awning,  and  listened 
to  the  faint  bubble  of  it  through  the  water  in  the  bottles, 
just  dropping  a  word  now  and  then  to  each  other.  A  tall, 
thin  'native'  servant,  with  long  sooty  hair  hanging  from  his 
snow-white  turban,  stood  behind  the  Judge's  chair,  bolt  up- 
right, with  his  arms  folded,  and  twice  as  solemn  as  Sir 
Charles  himself ;  you  saw  a  stern-window  shining  far  abaft, 
through  one  of  the  round-house  doors,  and  the  fat  old 
fellow  of  a  consumah*  busy  laying  the  cloth  for  tiffin,  while 
the  sole  breath  of  air  there  was  came  out  of  there-away. 

"Suddenly  eight  bells  struck,  and  every  one  seemed  glad 
of  something  new;  the  Judge's  consumah  came  out  salaaming 
to  say  tiffin  was  ready;  the  cuddy  passengers  went  below 
for  wine-and-water  and  biscuit;  and  the  men  were  at  dinner. 
There  being  nothing  to  take  care  of  on  deck,  and  the  heat 
of  course  getting  greater,  not  a  soul  stayed  up  but  myself; 
but  I  preferred  at  the  moment  lighting  a  cheroot,  and  going 
up  aft  to  see  clear  of  the  awnings.  The  cockatoo  had  been 
left  on  the  poop-rail,  with  its  silver  chain  hitched  round  one 
of  the  mizzen  back-stays,  where  it  shifted  from  one  leg  to 
the  other,  hooked  itself  up  the  back-stay  as  far  as  it  could 
go,  then  hurried  down  again,  and  mused  a  bit,  as  wise  as 
Solomon — then  screamed  out  at  the  top  of  its  voice — 'Tip — 
tip — pr-r-retty  cacka  —  tip-poo  —  cok-ka  —  whee-yew-ew-ew !' 
finishing  by  a  whistle  of  triumph  fit  to  have  split  one's  ears, 
or  brought  a  gale  of  wind — though  not  on  account  of  skill 
in  its  books,  at  any  rate.  Again  it  took  to  swinging  quietly 
head-down,  at  furious  rate,  and  then  slewed  upright  to  plume 
its  feathers,  and  shake  the  pink  tuft  on  its  head. 

"No  sooner  had  I  got  up  the  stair,  however,  than,  to  my 
perfect  delight,  I  saw  Violet  Hyde  was  still  sitting  aft,  and 
the  old  Irishwoman  gone;  so  I  stepped  to  the  taffrail  at 
once,  and,  for  something  to  be  about,  I  hauled  up  the  shark- 
hook  from  astern.  The  moment  I  caught  her  eye,  the 
young  lady  smiled — by  way  of  making  up,  no  doubt,  for 


*East  Indian  steward. 


96  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  old  one.  'How  very  solitary  it  is!'  said  she,  rising 
and  looking  out;  'the  ship  almost  seems  deserted,  except  by 
us!'  'By  Jove!  I  almost  wish  it  were,'  thought  I.  'A  dead 
calm,  madam,' 1  said,  and  likely  to  hold — the  under-swell's  gone 
quite  down,  and  a  haze  growing.'  'Are  we  sure  ever  to  leave 
this  spot  then?'  asked  she,  with  a  slight  look  of  anxiety. 
'Never  fear  it,ma'arn,'said  I;  'as  soon  as  the  haze  melts  again, 
we  're  near  a  breeze,  I  assure  you — only,  by  the  length  of 
the  calm  and  the  heat  together,  not  to  speak  of  our  being 
so  far  to  east'ard,  I  'm  afraid  we  may  n't  get  rid  of  it  with- 
out a  gale  at  the  end  to  match.'  'Indeed  ?'  said  Miss  Hyde. 

"The  fact  was,  Westwood  and  I  had  been  keeping  a  log, 
and  calculated  just  now  we  were  somewhere  to  south-east- 
ward of  Ascension;  whereas,  by  the  captain  and  mate's 
reckoning  she  was  much  farther  to  west. 

"  'I  never  thought  the  sea  could  appear  so  dreadful,' 
said  she,  as  if  to  herself — 'much  more  than  in  a  storm.' 
'Why,  madam,'  said  I,  'you  have  n't  exactly  seen  one  this  voy- 
age— one  needs  to  be  close-hauled  off  the  Cape  for  that.' 

"Somehow  or  other,  in  speaking  to  her,  by  this  time  I 
forgot  entirely  about  keeping  up  the  sham  cadet,  and  slipped 
into  my  own  way  again;  so  all  at  once  I  felt  her  two  dark- 
blue  eyes  looking  at  me  curiously.  'Plow! — why,'  exclaimed 
she  suddenly,  and  then  laughing,  'you  seem  to  know  all 
about  it!-— why,  you  speak — have  you  been  studying  sea 
affairs  so  thoroughly,  sir,  with  your  friend,  who — but  I  do 
think,  now,  one  can  scarcely  trust  to  what  you  have  said?' 
'Well— why — well,'  said  I,  fiddling  with  the  shark-hook,  'I 
don't  know  how  it  is,  but  I  feel  as  if  I  must  have  been 
at  sea  some  time  or  other  before ;  you  would  n't  suppose 
it,  ma'am,  but  whenever  I  fix  my  eyes  on  a  particular  rope, 
1  seem  almost  to  know  the  name  of  it.'  'And  its  use,  too?' 
asked  she,  merrily.  'I  shouldn't  wonder!'  said  I;  'perhaps 
I  was  lorn  at  sea,  you  know,  madam!'  and  I  gave  a  side- 
look  to  notice  how  she  took  it.  'Ah!  perhaps!'  said  Miss 
Hyde,  laughing;  'but  do  you  know  one  sometimes  fancies 
these  things;  and  now  I  think  of  it,  sir,  I  even  imagined 
for  a  moment  I  had  seen  yourself  before !'  'Oh,'  said  I,  'that 
couldn't  be  the  case;  I'm  sure,  for  my  part,  I  should 
recollect  clear  enough  if  I'd  seen — a — a  lady  anywhere!  I 
think  you  said  something  of  the  kind,  ma'am,  that  night 
of  tb.e  last  squall — about  the  water  and  the  clouds,  ma'am, 
you  remember?'  The  young  lady  looked  away,  though  a 
notion  Doomed  to  flash  through  her  mind.  'Yes,'  said  she, 
that  terrible  rain,  you  were '  'Washed  into  the  lee- 


A  SEA  STORY  97 

scuppers,'  said  I,  indifferently,  for  I  did  n't  want  her  to 
suspect  it  was  /  that  had  kissed  her  hand  in  the  dark 
as  1  carried  her  in.  'I  hope  Sir  Charles  and  your- 
self got  in  safe,  Miss  Hyde?'  However,  she  was  watch- 
ing the  water  along-side,  and  suddenly  she  exclaimed, 
'Dear!  what  a  pretty  little  fish!'  'By  heavens!'  said  I, 
seeing  the  creature  with  its  sharp  nose  and  blue  bars,  as 
it  glanced  about  near  the  surface,  and  then  swam  in  be- 
low the  ship's  bilge  again,  'that's  one  of  the  old  villain's 
pilots — he 's  lying  right  across  our  keel !  I  wish  I  could 
catch  that  shark!' 

"The  pork  was  of  no  use  for  such  an  old  sea-lawyer,  and 
I  cast  a  wistful  eye  on  the  Irishwoman's  fat  pug-dog 
stretched  asleep  on  her  shawl  by  the  bulwark ;  'he  'd  take 
that  in  a  trice,  though!'  I  even  laid  out  some  marline 
from  a  stern-locker,  and  noticed  how  neatly  one  could  pass 
the  hook  under  her  belly  round  to  the  tail,  and  seize  her  so 
snugly  on,  muzzled  and  all;  but  it  was  no  go,  with  the 
devil  to  pay  afterwards.  All  of  a  sudden  I  heard  some- 
body hawking  and  spitting  above  the  awning  forward,  near 
where  the  cockatoo  kept  still  trying  to  master  his  own  name. 
'The  Yankee,  for  a  thousand !'  thought  I ;  'is  Daniel  trying 
to  walk  along  the  spanker-boom?'  Next,  some  one  sung  out, 
'Hal-loo-oo-oo !'  as  if  there  was  a  tomahawk  over  him,  ready 
to  split  his  brain.  Miss  Hyde  looked  alarmed,  when  the 
Scotch  mate,  as  I  thought,  roared,  'Shiver  my  tops'ls !'  Then 
it  was  a  sailor  hailing  gruffly,  'Bloody  Capting  Brown — 
bloody  Capting  Brown — Capting  Brown !' 

"  'Somebody  drunk  aloft !'  thought  I,  walking  forward 
to  see:  when  a  funny  little  black  head  peeped  round  the 
awning,  with  a  yellow  nose  as  sharp  as  a  marline  spike,  and 
red  spectacles,  seemingly,  round  its  keen  little  eyes;  then, 
with  a  flutter  and  a  hop,  the  steward's  pet  mina-bird*  came 
down,  and  lighted  just  under  the  cockatoo.  'Ha!'  said  I, 
laughing,  'it 's  only  Parson  Barnacle !'  as  the  men  called 
him — a  sooty  little  creature  scarce  bigger  than  a  black- 
bird, with  a  white  spot  on  each  wing,  and  a  curious  pair  of 
natural  glasses  on  his  head,  which  they  kept  in  the  fore- 
castle and  taught  all  sorts  of  'jaw,'  till  they  swore  he  could 
have  put  the  ship  about,  took  kindly  to  tar,  and  hunted 
the  cockroaches  like  a  cat. 


*  Mina-bird,  or  prackle,  a  frequent  pet  in  homeward-hound  East-Indiamen, 
and  singular  for  its  mimetic  faculty;  but  impudent,  and,  from  educational 
disadvantages,  not  particularly  select  in  its  expressions:  appearance  as  de- 
scribed by  the  lieutenant. 


98  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"No  doubt  he  was  glad  to  meet  his  countryman  the 
cockatoo,  but  Tippoo  stuck  up  his  crest,  swelled  his  chops, 
and  looked  dreadfully  frightened;  while  the  mina-bird  cocked 
his  head  on  one  side,  gave  a  knowing  wink  as  it  were, 
though  all  the  time  as  grave,  with  his  spectacles,  as  a 
real  parson.  'How's  her  head?'  croaked  he,  in  a  voice  like 
a  quartermaster's;  'blowing  hard!'  'Old  Capting  Brown!' 
and  hopped  nearer  to  the  poor  cockatoo,  who  could  stand 
it  no  longer,  but  hooked  himself  up  the  back-stay  as  fast 
as  possible,  out  of  sight,  the  chain  running  with  him;  and 
just  as  I  swung  myself  clear  of  the  awning  to  run  aloft  for 
a  catch  of  it,  out  flew  Parson  Barnacle  to  the  end  of  the 
cro jack-yard,  while  the  cockatoo  gave  a  flap  that  loosed  the 
Tciimagar's  lubberly  hitch,  and  sent  him  down  with  his  wings 
spread  on  the  water. 

"At  another  time  it  wouldn't  have  cost  me  a  thought  to 
go  head-foremost  after  him,  when  I  heard  his  young  mis- 
tress exclaiming,  'Oh,  poor,  dear  Tippoo  will  be  drowned!7 
but  recollecting  our  hungry  green  friend  on  the  other  side,  I 
jumped  down  for  the  end  of  a  rope  to  slip  myself  quietly 
alongside  with.  However,  at  the  very  moment,  Tom,  the 
man- o'-war's-man,  happening  to  come  up  from  the  fore- 
hatchway  to  throw  something  overboard,  and  seeing  Miss 
Hyde's  cockatoo,  off  went  his  shoes  and  jacket  at  once,  and 
I  heard  the  splash  as  he  struck  the  water.  I  had  scarce  time 
to  think,  either,  before  I  saw  Mick  O'Hooney's  red  head 
shoot  up  on  deck,  and  heard  him  sing  out,  'Man  overboard, 
be  the  powers,  boys !  Folly  my  lader !  Hurroo !'  and  over 
he  sprang.  'Here's  dip,'  said  another,  and  in  half  a  minute 
every  man  that  could  swim  was  floundering  in  the  smooth 
water  alongside,  or  his  head  showing  as  it  came  up — pitching 
the  cockatoo  to  each  other,  and  all  ready  to  enjoy  their 
bathe;  though,  for  my  part,  I  made  but  one  spring  to  the 
ship's  starboard  quarter,  to  use  the  only  chance  of  saving 
the  thoughtless  fellows,  from  a  bloody  fate  to  some  of  them. 

"I  knew  the  shark  would  be  cautious  at  first,  on  such  a 
sudden  to-do,  and  I  had  marked  his  whereabouts  while  the 
men  were  well  toward  the  bows;  and  'hang  it,'  thought  1, 
seeing  the  old  woman's  fat  pug  in  my  way,  'Dianny,  or 
die  all;  I  bear  no  malice,  but  you  must  go  for  it,  my  beauty !' 
As  quick  as  thought,  I  made  one  turn  of  marline  round  her 
nose,  took  oiT  the  pork,  and  lashed  her  fast  on  to  the  hook 
all  standing,  in  spite  of  her  squeaks ;  then  twisted  the  lady's 
shawl  round  the  chain  for  a  blind  to  it,  and  flung  the 
whole  right  over  the  larboard  quarter,  where  I  guessed  the 


A  SEA  STORY  99 

old  fellow  would  be  slewing  round  astern  to  have  a  lookout 
before  he  went  fairly  in  chase.  I  watched  the  line  sink 
slowly  with  the  weight  over  the  gunwale  for  half  a  minute, 
afraid  to  let  him  see  my  head,  and  trembling  for  fear  I 
should  hear  a  cry  from  one  of  the  men:  when  jerk  went  the 
rope  clear  of  a  belaying-pin  as  he  ran  off  with  his  bait.  I 
took  a  quick  turn  to  hook  him  smartly  in  the  throat,  and 
then  eased  off  again  till  the  'cleats'  brought  him  up  with 
a  'surge'  fit  to  have  parted  the  line,  had  it  not  been  good 
new  inch-and-a-half  rope — though,  as  it  was,  the  big  India- 
man  would  soon  have  sheered  stern-round  to  the  force  of  it, 
if  he  'd  only  pulled  fair. 

"The  young  lady  stood  noticing  what  I  did,  first  in  a 
perplexed  sort  of  a  way,  and  then  with  no  little  surprise, 
especially  when  the  shark  gave  every  now  and  then  a 
fiercer  tug,  as  he  took  a  sweep  astern;  by  this  time,  how- 
ever, everybody  was  on  deck  in  a  crowd,  the  passengers 
all  in  a  flurry,  and  half  of  the  men  scrambling  up  from 
alongside  to  tail  on  to  the  line,  and  run  him  out  of  water. 
So  away  they  went  with  it  full-speed  towards  the  bows, 
as  soon  as  the  ladies  were  out  of  the  way — dragging  two  or 
three  cadets  back-foremost,  head  over  heels,  down  the  poop 
stair — till,  in  spite  of  his  tugging,  the  shark's  round  snout 
showed  over  the  taffrail,  with  the  mouth  wide  open  under 
his  chjn,  as  it  were,  and  one  row  of  teeth  laid  flat  be- 
hind another,  like  a  comb-maker's  shop-counter.  A  running 
bowline  passed  round  his  handsome  waist,  then  another  pull, 
and  over  he  came  on  the  poop,  floundering  fourteen  feet 
long,  and  flourishing  his  tail  for  room,  till  the  carpenter 
chopped  it  across,  in  a  lucky  moment,  with  his  axe. 

"All  hands  gathered  round  the  shark  to  see  him  cut  up, 
which  was  as  good  as  a  play  to  them,  becalmed  as  we  were; 
when,  to  my  no  small  dismay,  I  heard  Mrs.  Brigadier 
Brady's  loud  voice  asking  where  her  dog  was;  and  the 
brigadier  himself,  who  seemed  more  afraid  of  his  wife 
than  anybody  else,  kept  poking  about  with  his  red-faced 
English  butler  to  find  the  animal.  Tor  God's  sake,'  said 
he,  in  a  half  whisper,  twenty  times  over,  'have  n't  ye 
seen  Mrs.  Brady's  dog,  any  of  ye  ? — she  '11  rout  the  ship 
inside  out  for  it,  captain,  if  we  don't  soon  ase  her  mind/ 
However,  I  knew  only  Miss  Hyde  was  aware  who  caught 
the  shark,  and  as  she  did  n't  appear  to  have  told,  why  of 
course  I  kept  all  fast  myself.  'Here's  a  'baccy-box!'  sung 
out  the  big  old  boatswain,  standing  astride  over  the  ta;l, 
while  the  cook  and  his  black  mate  ripped  away  from  the 


ioo  THE  GREEN  HAND 

tail  up.  'Hand  over,  if  ye  please,  sir,'  said  'ugly'  Harry, 
'it 's  mine,  Mr.  Burton !'  Harry  gave  it  a  wipe  011  his  knee, 
and  coolly  bit  a  quid  off  the  end  of  his  lost  pigtail.  The 
next  thing  was  Ford's  hat,  which  110  one  claimed,  so  black 
Sambo  clapped  it  on  his  woolly  head. 

"'What's  that  you've  got  there  now,   Sambo?'  said  the 
boatswain;    'out   with   it,   my   lad!'     'Golly!'    chuckled   the 
nigger,  rolling  the  whites  of  his  eyes  and  grinning  like  mad ; 
'oh  sar,  Misser  Barton!  dis  'ere  shark  riglar  navligator!     I 
'clare  to   you,   sar,   um  got   chr'ometer   aboard.     Oh   gum; 
berry   much   t'ink   dis   you   own   lost   silber   tickler,   Misser 
Barton.'     'Bless  me,  so  it  is,  my  lad,'  said  the  boatswain,  as 
the  black  handed  him  a  silver  watch  as  big  as  a  turnip,  and 
he  looked  at  the  cook,  who  was  busy  fumbling  with  his  knife. 
'Sorry  as  you  was  taxed  with  it,  doctor,'*  said  he  doubt- 
fully;   'well,    I'm    blow'd,    though — it    only    goes    an    hour 
and  a  half — and   here   it's   a   ticking  yet.'     Here   a   burst 
of  laughter  went  round,   and   somebody   sung  put,   'Maybe 
the  ould  pawn-broking  Judas  of  a  shark  winded  it  up  hisseif, 
jist  to  mark  the  time  o'  his  "goin'  off  the  hooks." '     'I  say, 
doctor,'  hailed  another,  'too  bad,  ain't  it  though,  to  cut  up 
your  uncle?'    'Ha,  ha,  ha,'  cried  the  cadets  and  writers,  look- 
ing  at   the   Scotch   surgeon ;    'd'  ye   hear   that,   doctor  ?       I 
would  n't  stand  it.     They  say  you  ain't  particular  in  Edin- 
bro',  though.  Some  rum  mistakes  happened  there,  eh,  doctor  ?' 
"The   Scotchman   got   into   a   passion   at   this,   being  the 
worst  cut  they  could  give  any  fellow  from  a  country  where 
they  were  famous  for  kindred  and  body-snatching  at  once 
— but   all   of   a  sudden   there   was   a   'Hulloo !      Shiver  my 
taw'sels!     What  this?    Let's  see';  and  the  whole  poopful  of 
us   were   shoving   together,    and   jumping    on    each    other's 
shoulders  to  have  a  look.     'Well,  we-ell,'  said  the  old  boat- 
swain,  as   he   peered    curiously    into    the    mess    of    shark's 
bowels — 'I'll  be  blowed.'     'The  likes  o'  that  now!'  croaked 
the  old  sailmaker,  lifting  up  his  two  hands,  '  't  ain't  lucky, 
Mr.  Burton !'    'My  eye !  them  's  not  young  sharks,  anyhow !' 
said  one  of  the  men.    'What 's  t'ou  think  they  be,  mun,'  said 
the  north-country  Chips,  'but  litter  o'  young  blind  poops  ?  an' 
here's  t'  ou'd  un,  see,  as  deed's  mutton!     Dang  him,  but 
some  un 's  got  an'  baited  t'  hook  wi  't,   there 's  nou't  else 
in's  guts.' 

"The  whole  poop  was  one  roar  of  laughing,  when  Mrs. 
Brady's  p\ig  was  found  delivered  of  four  pups  inside  the 
shark,  since  she  went  overboard,  and  two  of  'em  alive;  the 

*  Familiar  metonymy,  or  nickname,  at  sea,  for  the  ship's  cook. 


A  SEA  STORY  101 

news  ran  fore  and  aft  in  a  moment.  'Took  short  she  's  been, 
Jack!'  said  one.  'Beats  the  prophet  Joney!'  'I  say,  mate, 
them  whelps  is  born  twice  over.  Blessed  if  my  Sal  at  home, 
now,  would  n't  give  a  year's  'lotment  for  one  on  'em.' 

"  'Look  out,  all  hands  of  ye,'  cried  some  one,  'there  's  the 
old  girl  herself  coming  on  deck ;  sharp  's  the  word.'  And 
away  we  scuttled  right  and  left,  some  aloft,  and  some 
down  one  poop-ladder,  as  Mrs.  Brady,  with  the  brigadier 
and  his  butler  after  her,  came  fuming  up  the  other.  The 
black  made  one  spring  over  the  quarter  as  soon  as  he  saw  her ; 
but  the  Irish  topman,  Mick,  slipped  his  foot  amongst  the 
shark's  blood,  and  rolled  on  his  back,  while  the  old  bo'sun 
made  stand  in  the  thick  of  it  behind.  'Saze  the  villains,  I 
charge  ye,  brigadier,'  screamed  Mrs.  Brady,  though  he 
and  his  man  servant  only  kept  dodging  the  boatswain  round 
a  sort  of  a  quagmire  of  blood  and  grease,  while  the  old 
vixen  caught  Mick  by  his  red  hair  and  whiskers.  'Where  's 
my  dog,  ye  murderous  spalpeen  ?'  said  she,  panting  for 
breath;  'what  have  ye  done  with  my  Dianny,  ye  monsther? 
Spake,  or  T  '11 —  'Be  the  holy  elaven  thousand,  yer  lady- 
ship !'  said  Mick,  'an'  it 's  lost  did  ye  think  she  wor !  Isn't 
there  five  of  'em  back !  Whisper !  yer  ladyship's  riv'rence — 
she's  laid  in,  poor  craythure,  an'—  -'  'Oh!  you  Irish  thief!' 
Tug  came  both  Mrs.  Brady's  hands  through  his  hair,  while 
the  butler  caught  a  kick  in  the  stomach  from  Mick's  foot. 
'Murther!'  gasped  the  poor  fellow,  'sure  an'  I  dun'  know 
she  was  ayven  a  faym'le,  fur  me  own  part;  bad  luck  t'  ye, 
mates,  give  uz  a  hand.  Och,  an'  is  this  the  road  ye  thrate 
a  counthryman,  mim?'  'Me  your  countryman!  ye  bogtrottin' 
wretch,  ye!'  screamed  the  old  fury,  her  brogue  getting  worse 
the  more  she  heated — 'take  that! — don't  rise,  if  ye  dare.' 
'Faix  thin,  yer  ladyship  darlin','  said  O'Hooney,  grinning  in 
spite  of  his  hard  usage,  'I  tould  a  lie — och,  lave  some  o'  me 

hair ! — murther  intirely !   I  'm ' 

"All  the  time  none  of  us  could  stir  for  sheer  laughing, 
but  seeing  poor  Mick  like  to  fare  hard  with  the  old  vixen, 
,  who  was  near  as  big  as  himself,  and  as  strong  as  a  horse,  I 
whispered  to  the  men  to  run  round  and  let  go  the  poop 
awning — so  down  it  came,  with  a  few  buckets  of  water  in 
it,  over  the  five  of  them;  and  you  just  saw  Mrs.  Brady's 
sharp  elbow  through  the  canvas,  lifted  for  the  next  slap, 
when  we  had  her  all  fast,  struggling  like  a  cat  in  a  bag, 
while  O'Hooney  and  the  boatswain  crept  out  below.  'Stiff 
breeze  that,  as  we've  had!'  said  the  bo'sun,  shaking  him- 
self on  the  forecastle.  'Couldn't  ve 've  bowsed  over  on  the 


102  THE  GREEN   HAND 

old  jade's  pitticuts,  Mick?'  said  one  of  his  shipmates,  'and 
capsized  her  all  standing?'  'Sorra  fut  you'd  stir,  yourself, 
mate,'  said  he,  wiping  his  face,  'wid  such  a  shay  grinny- 
deer !  the  'd  manhandle  ye  as  asy's  twurl  a  mop !' 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"AFTER  all  this,  you  may  suppose  one  didn't  weary  so 
much,  even  of  the  calm.  As  soon  as  the  decks  were  clear, 
most  of  us  took  tea  on  the  poop,  for  fear  of  meeting  the 
brigadier's  lady  below,  every  one  holding  his  cup  ready  for 
a  start.  Rollock,  the  planter,  who  had  slept  and  swung  in 
his  cot  half  the  day,  was  like  to  split  his  sides  when  he 
heard  the  story;  by  the  way,  I  believe  both  the  little  pups  lived 
and  throve  on  goat's  milk,  and  the  men  called  one  of  them 
'Young  Jonah,'  though  he  had  so  much  of  the  terrier  that 
the  old  lady  disowned  him. 

"It  was  quite  dark,  and  cool  for  a  night  near  the  Line, 
though  not  a  ripple  stirred,  and  I  stayed  after  the  rest  to 
smoke  a  cigar,  stopping  every  now  and  then  near  the  after- 
most bull's-eye,  that  shone  through  the  deck,  and  thinking 
of  Lota.  'By  Jove !'  thought  I,  'she  has  n't  said  a  word  to 
the  Judge  about  our  having  met  before.  Think  of  having 
a  secret,  almost,  with  her!'  After  all,  though,  I  felt  well 
enough  I  might  as  soon  hope  for  the  Emperor  of  China's 
daughter  as  for  such  a  creature,  unless  something  wonder- 
fully strange  fell  out ;  deucedly  in  love  as  I  was,  I  was  n't 
puppy  enough  to  fancy  I'd  ever  succeed  by  mere  talk;  'but 
here  's  for  a  bold  heart  and  a  weather  eye,'  I  thought ;  'and  if 
these  can  do  it,  I  will!'  said  I  aloud,  when  some  one  clapped 
me  on  the  shoulder. 

"'Well,  Tom,  are  you  there?'  said  I,  thinking  it  was 
Westwood.  'Why,'  answered  old  Rollock,  laughing,  'not  so 
far  wrong,  my  boy — but  as  it's  thirty  years  since  any 
one  called  me  so,  I  thought  you  were,  for  a  moment ! — Medi- 
tating, eh  ?'  'Only  a  cigar  before  bedtime — will  you  have  one, 
sir?'  'Ah — well,'  said  the  planter,  'I'll  take  a  light  at  least — 
queer  life  this,  eh?  Shouldn't  know  this  was  water,  now — 
more  like  train-oil!  Looks  junglish  a  little  under  the  stars 
yonder.'  'Nothing  but  the  haze  come  down,'  said  I ;  '  't  is 
clear  enough  aloft,  though — look  out  for  squalls  ere  long.' 
'As  your  friend  Ford  would  have  it,'  said  Rollock;  <but  how 


A  SEA  STORY  103 

a  lad  of  your  spirit  can  manage  to  stand  this  so  well,  1 
can't  think!'  'Deyvilish  dull,  sir!'  said  I,  with  a  lazy 
drawl,  'but  can't  be  helped,  you  know.'  'Come,  come,  now, 
don't  mend  it  by  copying  poor  Winterton,'  chuckled  Rollock; 
'you  're  no  fool,  Collins,  so  don't  pretend  to  be.  I  say,  though, 
Collins,  my  boy,'  continued  he  rather  gravely,  'there  is  one 
really  soft  piece  I  begin  to  notice  in  you  lately — I  fear 
you're  falling  in  love  with  that  girl!'  'I,  sir!'  said  I;  'dear 
me,  what  makes  you —  'My  dear  boy,'  went  on  the  kind- 
hearted  old  fellow,  'I  take  an  interest  in  you;  no  lad  of 
your  stuff  practises  all  this  tomfoolery  without  something 
under  it,  and  I  see  you  've  some  serious  meaning  or  other. 
Did  you  know  her  before?'  'Oh — why — not  exactly,'  I 
dropped  out,  taken  rather  short.  'I  see,  I  see!'  he  went  on; 
'but  I  tell  you  what,  Collins,  a  cadet  can  do  nothing 
madder  than  marry  at  first  landing;  she  had  better  be  a 
cold-hearted  flirt,  after  all — though,  God  knows,  no  man 
can  say  what  that  does  but  one  that 's — felt  it ! — I — I  mean 
I  Tcneiv — a  young  fellow  that  went  out  as  ambitious  as  you 
can  be,  and  he — 

"Here  the  planter's  voice  shook  a  little,  and  he  stopped, 
puffing  at  his  cheroot  till  the  short  end  of  it  just  lighted 
up  his  hook  nose  and  part  of  his  big  white  whiskers  in 
the  dark,  only  you  saw  his  eye  glistening,  too.  'Devil  take 
it !'  thought  I,  'who  'd  have  expected  the  old  boy  to  be  so 
sharp,  though?'  'Well  but,  Collins,'  said  he  at  last,  'just 
you  enter  heart  and  soul  into  your  profession ;  I  'd  stake 
my  life  you  '11  rise,  who  knows  how  far — when  you  get 
captain's  pay  even,  then  you  may  think  of  it — that  is,  if 
she —  'Why/  said  I,  d'ye  suppose  the  Judge  would — 
'Judge!'  exclaimed  Mr.  Rollock — 'worse  and  worse!  Weren't 
we  talking  of  pretty  little  Kate  Fortescue?  My  dear  boy, 
you  don't  intend  to  say  you  mean  Miss  Hyde !  I  left  that  to 
your  puppy  of  a  "first  officer,"  as  they  call  him!  Why,  that 
young  girl  will  be  the  beauty  of  Calcutta.'  At  this  I  fancied 
some  one  else  gave  a  whistle  near  us.  'Of  course,  sir,'  said 
I,  raising  my  voice,  'you  did  n't  suppose  me  such  a  fool.' 
In  fact,  Miss  Fortescue  had  never  entered  my  head  at  all. 
'Something  strange  about  you,  Collins !'  said  the  planter, 
a  little  shortly;  'you  puzzle  me,  I  must  say.'  As  we  turned 
to  go  below,  I  heard  somebody  walk  down  the  poop-ladder, 
and  then  the  mate's  voice  sung  out  from  the  binnacle  to 
'strike  eight  bells!' 

"The  calm  was  as  dead  as  ever  next  morning,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, hotter  than  before — not  a  rope  changed  aloft,  nor  a 


104  THE  GREEN  HAND 

cloth  in  the  sails  moved;  but  it  was  pretty  hazy  round  us, 
which  made  the  water  a  sort  of  pale  old-bottle  blue,  that 
sickened  you  to  look  at;  and  a  long  dipping  and  drawling 
heave  gradually  got  up  as  if  there  were  blankets  on  it; 
the  ship,  of  course,  shifting  round  and  round  again,  slowly, 
like  a  dog  going  to  lie  down,  and  the  helm  giving  every 
now  and  then  a  sudden  jolt.  Near  noon  it  cleared  up  with 
a  blaze  of  light,  as  it  were;  the  sole  difference  at  first  being, 
that  what  looked  like  melting  lead  before  now  turned  into 
so  many  huge  bright  sheets  of  tin,  every  sudden  bend  of 
it  as  good  as  flashing  up  thousands  of  needles  in  your  eyes. 
A  good  deal  surprised  we  were,  however,  shortly  after,  to 
find  there  was  a  sail  in  sight,  another  square-rigged  vessel, 
seemingly  standing  up  on  the  horizon  six  or  seven  miles 
off.  Being  end  on  to  us  at  the  time,  though  every  glass 
in  the  ship  was  brought  to  bear  on  her,  't  was  hard 
to  say  what  she  was;  then  she  and  we  went  bobbing  and 
going  up  and  down  with  a  long  round  heave  between  us, 
slowly  enough,  but  always  at  cross  purposes,  like  two  fel- 
lows see-sawing  on  a  plank  over  a  dyke.  When  she  was 
up,  we  were  down,  and  we  just  caught  sight  of  her  royal, 
no  bigger  than  a  gull  on  the  water;  yerk,  went  our  rudder, 
and  next  time  she  seemed  to  have  vanished  out  of  the  glasses 
altogether,  till  we  walked  round  to  the  other  side,  and  made 
her  out  again  under  the  awning  on  the  opposite  beam.  At 
length  she  lifted  broad  to  its  for  a  moment  or  two,  showing 
a  long  pale  sort  of  hull  with  a  red  streak,  apparently  with- 
out ports,  and  brig-rigged,  though  the  space  betwixt  her  two 
masts  was  curious  for  that  kind  of  craft. 

"  'Wonderful  light -sparred  for  her  size  that  brig,  sir,'  said 
the  third  officer,  dropping  his  glass.  'Ay,  so  she  is,  Mr. 
Small,'  replied  Captain  Williamson;  'what  would  you  call 
her  then  ?  You  Ve  as  good  knowledge  of  craft  as  any  man, 
Mr.  Small,  I  think.'  'Why,'  said  the  old  mate,  screwing 
his  eye  harder  for  a  long  look,  'I  'd  say  she 's — not  a  cruiser, 
Captain  Williamson — no,  nor  a  Greenock  Indyman — nor 

a '     'Oh!'  said  Finch,  'some  African  timberer  or  other, 

I  dare  say,  Small.'  'Well,  Mr.  Finch,'  said  the  third  mate, 
handing  him  the  glass,  'mayhap  you'll  just  say  yourself, 
sir.'  'No,  no,  Mr.  Small/  said  the  captain;  'I'd  trust  to 
you  as  soon  as  any  man,  sir,  in  a  matter  of  the  kind.'  'Why, 
the  hull  of  her's  wonderful  Yankee-like,  sir,'  said  Small, 
again ;  'I  'm  thinking  they  Ve  been  and  squared  her  out  of 
a  schooner — and  made  a  bad  job  of  it,  too,  sir!  Bless  us! 
what  a  lean-headed  pair  o'  taups'ls — as  high  as  our  fore 


A  SEA  STORY  105 

one,  sir.'  Suddenly  the  old  mate  gave  his  thigh  a  slap, 
and  laid  down  his  glass  on  the  capstan;  'Lor',  sir!'  said  he, 
'that's  the  thing;  she's  nothing  more  nor  less  but  a  John 
Crapeau,  Captain  Williamson!' 

"  'I  dare  say  you  're  right,  Mr.  Small,'  said  the  skipper, 
taking  the  glass;  'just  so — ay,  ay — I  thought  it  myself!' 
'Pity  old  Nap  's  boxed  up  yonder  nowadays,  then,  sir,'  said 
the  first  officer,  rubbing  his  hands  and  pointing  to  eastward, 
where  he  thought  St.  Helena  was;  'why,  sir,  we  should  have 
the  peppering  of  the  Frenchman ;  I  don't  suppose  we  'd 
need  to  care  though  she  were  twice  the  size — and  what 's 
more,  we  want  fresh  water  before  seeing  the  Cape,  sir !' 
'Well,'  said  the  old  skipper,  laughing,  'that  is  the  worst  of 
it,  Finch !  As  for  spirit,  you  've  as  much  as  any  man,  Mr. 
Finch,  and  I  do  think  we  'd  know  how  to  take  the  weather- 
hand  of  him — eh  ?'  'I'll  be  bound  we  should !'  said  Finch, 
laughing,  too.  As  for  the  Frenchman,  both  Westwood  and 
I  had  made  him  out  by  his  rig  at  once,  thanks  to  man- 
o'-war  practice;  but  we  smiled  to  each  other  at  the  notion 
of  making  a  prize  of  Monsieur,  under  Finch's  management, 
with  not  a  gun  that  could  have  been  used  for  half  a  day, 
and  everything  else  at  sixes  and  sevens. 

"In  a  little  while  it  was  proposed  amongst  the  cadets, 
hot  as  the  calm  was,  to  make  a  party  to  go  and  see  the 
French  vessel.  Ford,  of  course,  was  at  the  head  of  it.  Win- 
terton  thought  they  would  no  doubt  have  plenty  of  cham- 
pagne on  board,  and  some  others,  who  could  row,  wanted  to 
try  their  hands.  Accordingly  the  captain's  gig  was  got  ready, 
a  sort  of  awning  rigged  over  it,  and  two  or  three  of  them 
got  in;  when  one,  who  was  Miss  Fortescue's  cousin,  per- 
suaded her  to  join,  if  Mr.  Rollock  would  come.  Then  the 
brigadier,  being  rather  a  good-humored  man,  said  he  should 
like  to  face  the  French  once  more,  and  Daniel  Snout  shoved 
himself  eagerly  in  without  asking,  by  your  leave.  One 
of  the  men  was  sent  to  take  charge;  and  as  there  was 
room  still,  I  was  just  going  to  jump  in,  too,  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  it,  when  Mrs.  Brady  hurried  to  the  taffrail  with 
her  parasol  up,  and  said,  if  the  brigadier  went  she  should 
go  as  well — in  fact,  the  old  woman's  jealousy  of  her  rib 
was  always  laughably  plain.  'Hang  it !  then,'  thought  1, 
'catch  me  putting  myself  in  the  same  boat  with  her!  the 
same  ship  is  enough  in  all  conscience !'  So  away  they 
were  lowered  off  the  davits,  and  began  pulling  in  tolerable 
style  for  the  brig,  a  couple  of  hours'  good  work  for  such 
hands  at  mid-day,  smooth  water  as  it  was. 


106  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"'Now,  gentlemen,'  said  the  first  officer,  briskly,  as  we 
looked  after  them  clipping  over  the  long  bright  blue  heave — 
'now,  gentlemen,  and  ladies  also,  if  you  please,  we '11  have 
another  party  as  soon  as  the  men  get  their  dinner — give 
these  gentlemen  a  full  hour's  law,  we  '11  overhaul  them.  See 
the  larboard  quarter-boat  clear,  Jacobs.'  It  was  just  the 
least  possible  hazy  again  behind  the  brig  in  the  distance,  and 
as  the  Judge  stood  talking  to  his  daughter  on  the  poop,  1 
heard  her  say,  'Is  the  other  vessel  not  coming  nearer  al- 
ready, papa?  See  how  much  more  distinct  its  sails  are 
this  moment — there! — one  almost  observes  the  white  can- 
vas!' 'Pooh,  Lota  child!'  answered  Sir  Charles,  'that  cannot 
be — 't  is  perfectly  calm,  don't  you  know  ?'  In  fact,  however, 
Lota  showed  a  sailor's  eye  for  air,  and  I  was  noticing  it 
myself;  but  it  was  only  the  air  made  it  look  so.  'Ah!  now,' 
exclaimed  she  again,  "t  is  as  distant  as  ever !  That  must 
have  been  the  light';  besides,  the  brig  had  been  lifting  on 
a  wide  swell. 

"  'I  beg  pardon,  Sir  Charles,'  said  the  mate,  coming  up 
and  taking  off  his  cap,  'but  might  I  use  the  freedom — per- 
haps yourself  and  Miss  Hyde  would  like  to  visit  the  French 
brig?'  The  Judge  looked  at  his  daughter  as  much  as  to 
ask  if  she  would  like  it.  'Oh  yes!  so  much!'  exclaimed 
she,  her  bright  eyes  sparkling,  'shall  we?'  'No!  Not  //' 
said  Sir  Charles.  'I  shall  take  my  siesta.  Quite  safe,  sir — 
eh?'  'Oh,  quite  safe,  Sir  Charles!'  said  Finch,  'a  dead 
calm,  sir — I  '11  take  the  utmost  care  you  may  be  sure,  Sir 
Charles — as  safe  as  the  deck,  sir!'  'Oh,  very  well,'  replied 
the  Judge,  and  he  walked  down  to  see  after  his  tiffin.  The 
young  lady  was  going  down  the  quarter-gallery  stair,  when 
I  caught  my  opportunity  to  say — 'I  hope  you'll  excuse  it, 
Miss  Hyde,  ma'am — but  I  do  trust  you  '11  not  risk  going  in 
the  boat  so  far,  just  now !'  Half  a  minute  after  I  spoke,  she 
turned  round,  and  looked  at  me  with  a  curious  sort  of  ex- 
pression in  her  charming  face,  which  I  couldn't  make  out 
— whether  it  was  mischievous,  whether  it  was  pettish,  or 
whether  't  was  inquisitive. 

"'Dear  me!'  said  she,  'why— do  you '  'The  weather 

might  change,'  I  said,  looking  round  about,  'and  I  should  n't 

wonder  if  it  did — or  a  swell  might  get  up — or '  'I  must 

say,  Mr. — Mr.  Collins,'  said  she,  laughing  slightly,  'you  are 
very  gloomy  in  your  anticipations — almost  timorous,  I  de- 
clare !  I  wonder  how  you  came  to  be  so  weather-wise !  But 
why  did  you  not  advise  poor  Mrs.  Brady,  now?'  I  couldn't 
see  her  face  as  she  spoke,  but  the  tone  of  the  last  words 


A  SEA  STORY  107 

made  me  feel  I  'd  have  given  worlds  to  look  round  and  see 
what  it  was  like  at  the  moment.  'Perhaps,  ma'am,'  said  1, 
'you  may  remember  the  rain?'  'Well, we  shall  see,  sir!'  replied 
she,  glancing  up  with  a  bright  sparkle  in  her  eye  for  an 
instant,  but  only  toward  the  end  of  the  spanker-boom,  as  it 
were;  and  then  tripping  down  the  stair. 

"I  kept  watching  the  gig  pull  slowly  toward  the  brig 
in  the  distance,  and  the  cutter  making  ready  on  our  quar- 
ter till  the  men  were  in,  with  Jacobs  amongst  them;  where 
they  sat  waiting  in  no  small  glee  for  the  mate  and  his  party, 
who  came  up  a  few  minutes  after;  and  I  was  just  be- 
ginning to  hope  that  Violet  Hyde  had  taken  my  advice, 
when  she  and  another  young  lady  came  out  of  the  round- 
house, dressed  for  the  trip,  and  the  captain  gallantly  handed 
them  in.  'My  compliments  to  the  French  skipper,  Mr.  Finch,' 
said  the  captain,  laughing,  'and  if  he  ain't  better  engaged, 
happy  to  see  him  to  dinner  at — two  bells*  in  the  dog-watch, 
we  '11  make  it !'  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  said  Finch.  'Now  then ! — all 
ready 'f  'Smythe 's  coming  yet,'  said  a  'writer.'  'We  can't 
wait  any  longer  for  him,'  replied  the  mate;  'ease  away  the 
falls,  handsomely,  on  deck!'  'Stop,'  said  I,  'I'll  go  then!' 
'Too  late,  young  gentleman,'  answered  the  mate,  sharply, 
'you  '11  cant  us  gunnel  up,  sir ! — lower  away,  there !'  How- 
ever, 1  caught  hold  of  a  rope  and  let  myself  down  the 
side,  time  enough  to  jump  lightly  into  her  stern-sheets  the 
moment  they  touched  the  water.  The  officer  stared  at  me 
as  he  took  the  yokelines  to  steer,  but  he  said  nothing,  and 
the  boat  shoved  oft',  while  Miss  Hyde's  blue  eyes  only  opened 
out,  as  it  were,  for  an  instant,  at  seeing  me  drop  in  so 
unceremoniously;  and  her  companion  laughed. 

"  '1  should  n't  have  supposed  you  so  nimble,  Mr.  Collins !' 
said  the  writer,  looking  at  me  through  his  eyeglass.  'Oh,' 
said  1,  'Ford  and  I  have  practised  climbing  a  good  deal 
lately.'  'Ha !  ha !'  said  the  civilian,  'should  n't  be  surprised, 
now,  if  your  friend  were  to  take  the  navigation  out  of 
Mr.  Finch's  hands,  some  day!'  'Bless  me,  yes,  sir!'  said 
Finch,  with  a  guffaw,  as  he  sat  handling  the  lines  care- 
lessly, and  smiling  to  the  ladies,  with  his  smart  cap  over 
one  ear;  'to  be  sure — ha!  ha!  ha! — it's  certain,  Mr.  .Bev- 
eridge!  Wouldn't  you  take  the  helm  here,  sir?'  to  me. 
'Oh,  thank  you,  no,  sir !'  replied  I,  modestly,  'I  'm  not  quite 
so  far  yet — but  we've  got  a  loan  of  Hamilton  Moore  and 
Falconer's  Dictionary  from  the  midshipmen,  and  mean 
to —  'No  doubt  you'll  teach  us  a  trick  or  two  yet!' 

*Five  o'clock  p.  M. 


io8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

said  Finch,  with  a  sneer.  'Now,  for  instance,'  said  I,  coolly, 
'aloft  yonder,  you  've  got  the  throat  halyards  jammed  in  the 
block  with  a  gasket,  and  the  mizzen-topsail  clewlines^ rove 
wrong  side  of  it,  which  Hamilton  Moore  distinctly — 

"'Hang  the  lubber  that  did  it,  so  they  are!'  exclaimed 
the  mate,  looking  through  the  spyglass  we  had  with  us.  'Now 
you've  your  jibs  hauled  down,  sir,'  continued  I,  'and  if 
a  squall  came  on  abeam,  no  doubt  they  'd  wish  to  shorten  sail 
from  aft,  and  keep  her  away — however,  she  would  broach-to 
at  once,  as  Hamilton  Moore  shows  must —  'You  and 
Hamilton  Moore  may—  Well,  no  fear  of  a  squall  just 
now,  at  any  rate,  ladies,'  said  he.  'Stretch  out,  men — let 's 
head  upon  Mr.  Ford  and  his  gig,  yet !' 

"Terribly  hot  it  was,  close  to  the  water,  and  so  stifling 
that  you  scarce  could  breathe,  while  the  long  glassy  swell 
•was  far  higher  than  one  thought  it  from  the  ship's  deck; 
however,  we  had  an  awning  hoisted,  and  it  refreshed  one  a 
little  both  to  hear  the  water  and  feel  it  below  again,  as  the 
cutter  went  sliding  and  rippling  over  it  to  long  slow  strokes 
of  the  oars ;  'her  crew  being  all  men-o'-war's-men,  that  knew 
how  to  pull  together  and  take  it  easy.  The  young  ladies 
kept  gazing  rather  anxiously  at  the  big  old  'Seringapatam,' 
as  she  rose  and  dropped  heavily  on  the  calm,  amused 
though  they  were  at  first  by  a  sight  of  their  late  home 
turning  'gable'  on  to  us,  with  her  three  masts  in  one,  and 
a  white  straw  hat  or  two  watching  us  from  her  taft'rail; 
whereas,  ahead,  they  only  now  and  then  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  brig's  upper  canvas,  over  a  hot,  hazy,  sullen-looking 
sweep  of  water  as  deep-blue  as  indigo — with  six  hairy  brown 
breasts  bending  before  them  to  the  oars,  and  as  many 
pair  of  queer,  rollicking,  fishy  sort  of  eyes,  fixed  steadily 
on  the  bonnets  aft,  in  a  shame-faced,  down-hill  kind  of 
way,  like  fellows  that  couldn't  help  it.  In  fact,  I  noticed 
a  curious  grin  now  and  then  on  every  one  of  the  men's 
faces,  and  a  look  to  each  other  when  they  caught  sight  of 
myself  sitting  behind  the  mate,  as  he  paid  out  his  high- 
ilying  speeches;  Jacobs,  again,  regarding  me  all  the  while 
out  of  the  whites  of  his  eyes,  as  it  were,  in  a  .vooden, 
unknowing  fashion  fit  to  have  made  a  cat  laugh — seeing 
he  never  missed  his  mark  for  one  moment,  and  drew  back 
his  head  at  every  pull  with  the  air  of  a  drunken  man 
keeping  sight  of  his  own  waistcoat  buttons. 

"By  the  time  we  were  half-way,  the  swell  began  to  get 
considerable,  and  the  mate  stepped  up  abaft  to  look  for 
the  gig.  'Can't  see  the  boat  yet,'  said  he;  'give  way  there, 


A  SEA  STORY  109 

my  lads —  stretch  out  and  bend  your  backs !  there 's  the 
brig  !'  'Hallo !'  exclaimed  he  again,  'she  's  clewed  up  royals 
and  to'gallant-s'ls !  By  heavens !  there  go  her  tops'is  down, 
too!  Going  to  bend  new  sails,  though,  I  dare  say,  for  it 
looks  clear  enough  there.'  'The  ship  's  run  up  a  flag  aft, 
sir,'  said  Jacobs.  'The so  she  has,'  said  Finch,  turning- 
round  ;  'recall  signal !  What 's  wrong  ?  Sorry  we  can't  dine 
aboard  the  French  vessel  this  time,  ladies !'  said  he,  'ex- 
tremely so — and  the  griffins  there  after  all,  too.  I  hope 
you  won't  be  disappointed  in  any  great  measure,  Miss  Hyde; 
but  if  you  wished  it  now,  miss,  I  'd  even  keep  on,  and ' 

"The  young  lady  colored  a  little  at  this,  and  turned  to 
her  companion  just  as  I  remembered  her  doing  from  the 
dragoon  in  the  ballroom.  'Do  you  not  think,  Miss  Wynd- 
ham,'  said  she,  lwe  ought  not  to  wish  any  officer  of  the  ship 
should  get  reproved,  perhaps,  on  our  account  ?'  'Oh  dear  no,' 
said  Miss  Wyndham;  'indeed,  Mr.  Finch,  you  had  better  go 
back,  if  the  captain  orders  you.' 

"  'Hold  on  there  with  your  larboard  oars,  you  lubbers !'' 
sang  out  Finch,  biting  his  lip,  and  round  we  went,  pulling 
for  the  Indiaman  again;  but  by  this  time  the  swell  was 
becoming  so  heavy  as  to  make  it  hard  work,  and  it  was 
soon  rarely  we  could  see  her  at  all;  for  nothing  gets  up 
so  fast  as  a  swell,  sometimes,  near  the  Line;  neither  one 
way  nor  the  other,  but  right  up  and  down,without  a  breath 
of  wind,  in  huge  smooth  hills  of  water,  darker  than  lead, 
not  a  speck  of  foam,  and  the  sky  hot  and  clear.  '  Twas 
almost  as  if  a  weight  had  been  lifted  from  off  the  long  heav- 
ing calm,  and  the  whole  round  of  it  were  going  up  dark  into 
the  sky,  in  one  weltering  jumble,  the  more  strange  that  it 
was  quiet:  sweep  up  it  took  the  boat,  and  the  bright  wet 
oar  blades  spread  feathering  out  for  another  stroke  to 
steady  her,  let  alone  making  way;  though  that  was  noth- 
ing to  the  look  of  the  Indiaman  when  we  got  near.  She 
was  rolling  her  big  black  hull  round  in  it  as  helpless  as  a 
cask ;  now  one  side,  then  the  other,  dipping  gunwale  to  in  the 
round  swell  that  came  heaping  up  level  with  her  very  rail, 
and  went  sheeting  out  bright  through  the  bulwarks  again ;  the 
masts  jumping,  clamps  and  boom-irons  creaking  on  the  yards, 
and  every  sail  on  her  shaking,  as  her  lower  yard-arms  took 
it  by  turns  to  aim  at  the  water — you  heard  all  the  noise 
of  it,  the  plunge  of  her  flat  broadside,  the  plash  from  her 
scuppers,  the  jolts  of  her  rudder,  and  voices  on  board;  and 
wet  you  may  be  sure  she  was  from  stem  to  stern. 


no  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"  'Comfortable,'  thought  I ;  'we  've  come  home  too  soon  of 
a  washing-day,  and  may  wait  at  the  door,  I  fear !'  'Oh  dear,' 
exclaimed  the  three  griffins,  'how  are  we  to  get  in!'  and  the 
young  ladies  looked  pale  at  the  sight.  The  mate  steered  for 
her  larboard  quarter  without  saying  a  word,  but  I  saw  he 
lost  coolness  and  got  nervous — not  at  all  the  man  for  a  hard 
pinch;  seemingly,  he  meant  to  make  a  dash  alongside  and 
hook  on.  'If  you  do,  sir,'  said  1,  you'll  be  smashed  to 
staves';  and  all  at  once  the  ship  appeared  almost  over  our  » 
heads,  while  the  boat  took  a  send  in.  I  looked  to  Jacobs 
and  the  men,  and  they  gave  one  long  stroke  off,  that  seemed 
next  heave  to  put  a  quarter  of  a  mile  between  us.  'Close 
shave  that,'  said  the  bowman.  'Begs  pardon,  sir,'  said  Jacobs, 
touching  his  hat,  with  his  eyes  still  fixed  past  the  mate,  upon 
me ;  'has  n't  we  better  keep  steadying  off,  sir,  till  such  time 
as  a  sulk  in  the  swell —  'Hold  your  jaw,  sirrah,'  growled 
Finch,  as  he  looked  ahead,  still  more  flurried ;  'there 's  a 
squall  coming  yonder,  gentlemen,  and  if  we  don't  get  quick 
aboard,  we  may  lose  the  ship  in  it !  Pull  round,  d  'ye  hear 
there!'  Sure  enough,  when  we  lifted,  there  was  the  .French 
brig  clear  out  against  a  sulky  patch  of  dark-gray  sky, 
growing  in,  as  it  were,  far  off  behind  the  uneven  swell,  till  it 
began  to  look  pale;  the  Jndiaman's  topsails  gave  a  loud  flap 
out,  too,  one  after  the  other,  and  fell  to  the  mast  again. 

"Suddenly  I  caught  the  glance  of  Violet  Hyde's  eyes 
watching  me  seriously,  as  I  sat  overhauling  the  India- 
man  for  a  notion  of  what  to  do,  and  I  fancied  the  charm- 
ing girl  had  somehow  got  nearer  to  me  during  the  last 
minute  or  two,  whether  she  knew  it  or  not;  at  any  rate, 
the  thought  of  having  such  a  creature  to  protect  made 
all  my  blood  tingle.  'Never  fear,  ma'am,'  said  I,  in  a  half 
whisper;  when  Finch's  eye  met  mine,  and  he  threw  me  a 
malicious  look,  sufficient  to  show  what  a  devil  the  fellow 
would  be  if  ever  he  had  occasion;  however,  he  gave  the 
sign  for  the  men  to  stretch  out  again,  and  high  time  it 
was,  as  the  Indiaman's  main-topsail  made  another  loud 
clap  like  a  musket-shot.  Still  he  was  holding  right  for 
her  quarter — the  roll  the  ship  had  on  her  was  fearful,  and 
it  was  perfect  madness  to  try  it;  but  few  merchant  mates 
have  chanced  to  be  boating  in  a  Line  swell,  I  dare  say; 
when  just  as  we  came  head  on  for  her  starboard  counter, 
I  took  the  boat's  tiller  a  sudden  shove  with  my  foot,  as  if 
by  accident,  that  sent  us  sheering  in  close  under  her  stern. 
The  bowman  prized  his  boat-hook  into  the  rudder-chains, 
where  the  big  hull  swung  round  us  on  both  sides  like  an 


A  SEA  STORY  in 

immense  wheel  round  its  barrel,  every  stern  window  with 
a  face  watching  us — though  one  stroke  of  the  loose  rudder 
would  have  stove  us  to  bits,  and  the  swell  was  each  moment 
like  to  make  the  men  let  go,  as  it  hove  us  up  almost  near 
enough  to  have  caught  a  hand  from  the  lower-deck. 

"  'For  God's  sake  steady  your  wheel,'  said  I ;  'hard  a-port !' 
while  the  mate  was  singing  out  for  a  line.  'Now,  up  you  go/ 
said  I  to  Jacobs,  in  the  hubbub,  'look  sharp,  and  send  us 
down  a  whip  and  basket  from  the  boom-end,  as  we  did 
once  in  the  "Pandora,"  you  know !'  Up  the  rope  went  Jacobs 
like  a  cat,  hand  over  hand:  and  five  minutes  after,  down 
came  the  'basket'  over  our  heads  into  the  boat,  made  out 
of  a  studding-sail  and  three  capstan-bars,  like  a  big  grocer's 
scale  dangling  from  the  spanker-boom.  The  mate  proposed 
to  go  up  first  with  Miss  Hyde,  but  she  hung  back  in 
favor  of  her  companion;  so  away  aloft  went  Miss  Wynd- 
ham  and  he,  swinging  across  the  Indiaman's  stern  as  she 
rolled  again,  with  a  gantline  to  steady  them  in — Finch 
holding  on  to  the  whip  by  one  hand,  and  the  other  round 
the  young  lady,  while  my  blood  crept  at  the  thought  how  it 
might  have  been  Lota  herself ! 

"As  soon  as  it  came  down  again,  she  looked  for  a  moment 
from  me  to  Jacobs,  when  Captain  Williamson  himself  shouted 
over  the  tailrail:  'Sharp,  sharp,  there!  the  squall's  coming 
down !  she  '11  be  up  in  the  wind !  let 's  get  the  helm  free !'  and 
directly  after  I  found  myself  swinging  twenty  feet  over 
the  water  with  Violet  Hyde,  as  the  ship  heeled  to  a  puff 
that  filled  the  spanker,  and  rose  again  on  a  huge  swell, 
gathering  steerage  way,  while  every  bolt  of  canvas  in  her 
flapped  in  again  at  once  like  thunder.  I  felt  her  shudder 
and  cling  to  me — there  was  one  half  minute  we  swung 
fairly  clear  of  the  stern;  they  stopped  hoisting — and  I  al- 
most thought  I  'd  have  wished  that  same  half  minute  half  a 
day;  but  a  minute  after  she  was  in  the  Judge's  arms  on  the 
poop;  the  men  had  contrived  to  get  the  cadets  on  board,  too, 
and  the  boat  was  dragging  astern,  with  the  line  veered  out, 
and  her  crew  still  in  it  baling  her  out. 

"I  fixed  my  eyes  at  once,  breathless  as  we  of  the  boat 
party  were,  on  the  weather-signs  and  the  other  vessel,  which 
everybody  on  the  poop  was  looking  at,  as  soon  as  we  were 
safe,  and  our  friends  in  the  gig  had  to  be  thought  of. 
The  short  top-swell  was  beginning  to  soften  in  long,  regu- 
lar seas,  with  just  air  enough  aloft  to  give  our  light  sails 
a  purchase  on  it,  and  put  an  end  to  the  infernal  clatter; 
but  the  vapor  had  gathered  quicker  than  you  could  well 


ii2  THE  GREEN   HAND 

fancy  behind  the  brig  in  the  distance,  so  that  she  looked 
already  a  couple  of  miles  nearer,  rising  up  two  or  three 
times  on  as  many  huge  swells  that  shone  like  blue  glass, 
while  she  steadied  herself  like  a  tight-rope  dancer  on  the  top 
of  them,  by  a  studding-sail  set  high  from  each  side.  On 
the  far  horizon  beyond  her,  you'd  have  thought  there  was 
a  deep  black  ditch  sunk  along  under  the  thickening  blue 
haze,  as  it  stretched  out  past  her  to  both  hands,  till  actually 
the  solid  breast  of  it  seemed  to  shove  the  brig  bodily 
forward  over  the  oily-like  water,  every  spar  and  rope  dis- 
tinct; then  the  fog  lifted  below  as  if  the  teeth  of  a  saw 
came  spitting  through  it,  and  we  saw  her  bearing  down 
towards  us — cloud,  water,  and  all,  as  it  were — with  a  white 
heap  of  foam  at  her  bows. 

"  'Brace  up  sharp,  Mr.  Finch !'  said  the  old  skipper  hastily, 
'and  stand  over  to  meet  her.  Confound  this !  we  must  have 
these  people  out  of  that  brig  in  a  trice;  we  shall  soon  have 
a  touch  of  the  Horse  Latitudes,  or  my  name  's  not  Kichard 
Williamson — ay,  and  bid  good-bye  to  'em,  too,  I  think!' 

"For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so,  accordingly,  we  kept 
forging  slowly  ahead,  while  the  brig  continued  to  near  us. 
No  one  spoke, .  almost — you  heard  the  lazy  swash  of  the 
water  round  our  fore-chains,  and  the  stillness  aboard  had 
a  gloomy  enough  eifect,  as  one  noticed  the  top  of  the  haze 
creep  up  into  round  vapory  heads  upon  the  sky,  and  felt  it 
darkening  aloft  besides.  We  were  scarce  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  apart,  and  could  see  her  sharp  black  bows  drip  over 
the  bright  sheathing,  as  she  rolled  easily  on  the  swell;  when 
the  Indiaman  suddenly  lost  way  again,  sheered  head  round, 
and  slap  went  all  her  sails  from  the  royals  down,  as  if  she 
had  fired  a  broadside.  Almost  the  next  moment,  a  long 
low  growl  ran  muttering  and  rumbling  far  away  round  the 
horizon,  from  the  clouds  and  back  to  them  again,  as  if 
they  had  been  same  huge  monster  or  other  on  the  watch, 
with  its  broad  green  muzzle  shooting  quietly  over  us  as 
it  lay;  the  brig  dipped  her  gilt  figure-head  abeam  of  us,  and 
then  showed  her  long  red  streak;  the  swell  sinking  fast,  and 
the  whole  sea  far  and  wide  coming  out  from  the  sky  as 
dark  and  round  as  the  mahogany  drum-head  of  the  capstan. 

''  'Bless  me,  Small,'  said  the  captain,  'but  I  hope  they  've 
not  knocked  a  hole  in  my  gig — ay,  there  they  are,  I  think, 
looking  over  the  brig's  quarter — but  don't  seem  to  have  a 
boat  to  swim!  Get  the  cutter  hauled  alongside,  Mr.  Steb- 
bing,'  continued  he  to  the  fourth  mate,  'and  go  aboard  for 
them  a^  occe — confounded  bothering,  this!  Mind  get  my 


A  SEA  STORY  113 

gjg  safe,  sir,  if  you  please — can  ye  parley-voo,  though,  Mr. 
Stebbing?'  'Not  a  word,  sir,'  said  the  young  mate,  a 
gentlemanly,  rather  soft  fellow,  whom  the  other  three  all 
used  to  snub.  'Bless  me,  can't  we  muster  a  bit  o'  French 
amongst  us  ?'  said  the  skipper ;  'catch  a  monshoor  that  knows 
a  word  of  English,  like  any  other  man — 'specially  if  they  've 
a  chance  of  keeping  my  gig!'  'Well,  sir,'  said  I,  'I'll  be 
happy  to  go  with  the  officer,  as  I  can  speak  French  well 
enough!'  'Thank  ye,  young  gentleman,  thank  ye,'  said  he, 
'you  'il  do  it  as  well  as  any  man,  I  'm  sure — only  look  sharp, 
if  you  please,  and  bring  my  gig  with  you!'  So  down  the 
side  we  bundled  into  the  cutter,  and  pulled  straight  for  the 
brig,  which  had  just  hoisted  French  colors,  not  old  'three- 
patches,'  of  course,  but  the  new  Restoration  flag. 

"1  overhauled  her  well  as  we  got  near,  and  a  beautiful 
long  schooner-model  she  was,  with  sharp  bows,  and  a  fine 
easy-run  hull  from  stem  to  stern,  but  dreadfully  dirty,  and 
spoiled  with  top  bulwarks,  as  if  they  meant  to  make  her 
look  as  clumsy  as  possible;  while  the  brig-rig  of  her  aloft, 
with  the  ropes  hanging  in  bights  and  hitches,  gave  her 
the  look  of  a  hedge-parson  on  a  race  horse;  at  the  same 
time,  1  counted  six  closed  ports  of  a  side,  in  her  red  streak, 
the  exact  breadth  and  color  of  itself.  Full  of  men,  with  a 
long  gun,  and  schooner-rigged,  she  could  have  sailed  round 
the  Indiaman  in  a  light  breeze  and  mauled  her  to  any 
extent. 

"They  hove  us  a  line  out  of  the  gangway  at  once,  the 
mate  got  up  her  side  as  she  rolled  gently  over,  and  I  fol- 
lowed him:  the  scene  that  met  our  eyes  as  soon  as  we 
reached  the  deck,  however,  struck  me  a  good  deal  on  various 
accounts.  We  could  n't  at  first  see  where  Mr.  Kollock  and 
his  party  might  be,  for  the  shadow  of  a  thick  awning  after 
the  glare  of  the  water,  and  the  people  near  the  brig's  gang- 
way; but  I  saw  two  or  three  dark-faced,  very  French-like 
individuals,  in  broad-brimmed  straw  hats  and  white  trousers, 
seemingly  passengers;  while  about  twenty  Kroomen  and 
negroes,  and  as  many  seamen  with  unshaven  chins,  ear- 
rings, and  striped  frocks,  were  in  knots  before  the  longboat, 
turned  keel  up  amidships,  careless  enough,  to  all  appearance, 
about  us.  One  of  the  passengers  leaned  against  the  main- 
mast, with  his  arms  folded  over  his  broad  chest,  and  his  legs 
crossed,  looking  curiously  at  us  as  we  came  up;  his  dark 
eyes  half  closed,  the  shadow  of  his  hat  down  to  his  black 
moustache,  and  his  shirt-collar  open,  showing  a  scar  on 
his  hairy  breast;  one  man,  whom  I  marked  for  the  brig's 


ii4  THE  GREEN  HAND 

surgeon,  beside  him;  and  another  waiting  for  us  near  the 
bulwarks — a  leathery-faced  little  fellow,  with  twinkling  black 
eyes,  and  a  sort  of  cocked  hat  fore-and-aft  on  his  cropped 
head.  'Moi,  monsieur,'  said  he,  slapping  his  hand  on  his 
breast  as  the  mate  looked  about  him,  'oui,  je  suis  capitaine, 
monsieur.' 

"'Good-day,  sir,'  said  Stebbing,  'we've  just  come  aboard 
for  our  passengers — and  the  gig — sir,  if  you  please.'  'Cer- 
tainement,  monsieur,'  said  the  French  skipper,  bowing  and 
taking  a  paper  from  his  pocket,  which  he  handed  to  the  mate, 
'I  comprind,  sare — monsieur  le  capitaine  de  la  fregate  An- 
glaise,  il  nous  demande  nos — vat  you  call — peppares — viola! 
I  have  'ad  le  honneur,  messieurs,  to  be  already  sarch  by  vun 
off  vos  crusoes — pour  des  esclaves!  vous  imaginez  cela,  mes- 
sieurs!' and  here  the  worthy  Frenchman  cast  up  his  hands 
and  gave  a  grin  which  seemed  meant  for  innocent  horror. 
'Slaifs!  chez  le  brigantin  "Louis  Bourbon,"  Capitaine  Jean 
Duprez?  Non!'  said  he,  talking  away  like  a  windmill,  'de 

Marseilles  a  1'Isle  de  France,  avec  les  vins  choisis '  'You 

mistake,  monsieur,'  said  I,  in  French;  'the  ship  is  an  India- 
man,  and  we  have  only  come  for  our  friends,  who  are  en- 
joying your  wine,  I  dare  say,  but  we  must '  'Comment 'f 

said  he,  staring,  'what,  monsieur?  have  de  gotness  to ' 

"Here  the  moustached  passenger  suddenly  raised  himself 
off  the  mast,  and  made  one  stride  between  us  to  the  bul- 
warks, where  he  looked  straight  out  at  the  Indiaman,  his 
arms  still  folded,  then  from  us  to  the  French  master.  He 
was  a  noble-looking  man,  with  an  eye  I  never  saw  the  like 
of  in  anyone  else,  't  was  so  clear,  bold,  and  prompt — it 
actually  went  into  you  like  a  sword,  and  I  could  n't  help 
fancying  him  in  the  thick  of  a  battle,  with  thousands  of 
men  and  miles  of  smoke.  'Duprez,'  said  he,  quickly,  'je 
vous  le  dis  encore — debarquez  ces  miserables! — nous  com- 
battronsP  'Then,  mon  ami,'  said  the  surgeon,  in  a  low,  cool, 
determined  tone,  stepping  up  and  laying  a  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  'aussi,  nous  couperons  les  ailes  de  I'Aigle,  seule- 
ment ! — Hush,  mon  ami,  restrain  this  unfortunate  madness 
of  yours! — c'est  bien  mal-a-propos,  a  present!'  and  he  whis- 
pered something  additional,  on  which  the  passenger  fell  back 
and  leaned  against  the  mainmast  as  before.  'Ah!'  said  the 
French  master  in  his  own  language,  shaking  his  head,  and 
giving  his  forehead  a  tap,  'le  pauvre  homme-la!  He  has 
had  a  coup-de-soleil,  messieurs,  or  rather  of  the  moon,  you 
perceive,  from  sleeping  in  its  rays!  Ma  foil'  exclaimed  he, 


A  SEA  STORY  115 

on.  my  explaining  the  matter,  Vest  pos-sible? — we  did 
suppose  your  boat  proposed  us  the  honor  to  visit,  when 
evidently  deterred  by  the  excessive  undulation! — My  friends, 

resign  yourselves  to  a  misfort '     'Great  heavens!     Mr. 

Stebbing,'  said  I,  'the  boat  is  lost!'  'By  George!  what  will 
the  captain  say,  then !'  replied  he ;  however,  as  soon  as  I 
told  him  the  sad  truth,  poor  Stebbing,  being  a  good- 
hearted  fellow,  actually  put  his  hands  to  his  face  and 
sobbed. 

"All  this  time  the  brig's  crew  were  gabbling  and  kicking 
up  a  confounded  noise  about  something  they  were  at  with, 
the  spare  spars,  and  in  throwing  tarpaulins  over  the  hatches; 
for  it  was  fearfully  dark,  and  going  to  rain  heavy;  the  slight 
swell  shone  and  slid  up  betwixt  the  two  vessels  like  oil,  and 
the  clouds  to  south-westward  had  gathered  up  to  a  steep 
black  bank,  with  round  coppery  heads,  like  smoke  over  a 
town  on  fire.  'Will  you  go  down,  messieurs,'  said  the  French- 
man, politely,  'and  taste  my  vin  de —  '  'No,  sir,'  said  I,  'we 
must  make  haste  off,  or  else — besides,  by  the  way,  we 
could  n't,  for  you  've  got  all  your  hatches  battened  down !' 
'Diable,  so  they  are!'  exclaimed  he,  'par  honneur,  gentle- 
men, I  regret  the  occasion  of — ha!'  Just  before,  a  glaring 
brassy  sort  of  touch  had  seemed  to  come  across  the  face  of  the 
immense  cloud;  and  though  everything,  far  and  wide,  was 
as  still  as  death,  save  the  creaking  of  the  two  ships'  yards, 
it  made  you  think  of  the  last  trumpet's  mouth!  But  at 
this  moment  a  dazzling  flash  leaped  zigzag  out  of  it, 
running  along  from  one  cloud  to  another,  while  the  huge 
dark  mass,  as  it  were,  tore  right  up,  changing  and  turning  it 
inside  out  like  dust — you  saw  the  sea  far  away  under  it, 
heaving  from  glassy  blue  into  unnatural-like  brown — when 
crash  broke  the  thunder  over  our  very  heads,  as  if  something 
had  fallen  out  of  heaven,  then  a  long  bounding  roar.  The 
mad  French  passenger  stood  up,  walked  to  the  bulwarks, 
and  looked  out  with  his  hand  over  his  eyes  for  the  next; 
while  the  young  mate  and  I  tumbled  down  the  brig's 
side  without  further  to-do,  and  pulled  fast  for  the  ship, 
where  we  hardly  got  aboard  before  there  was  another  wild 
flash,  another  tremendous  clap,  and  the  rain  fell  in  one 
clash,  more  like  stone  than  water,  on  sea  and  decks.  For 
half  an  hour  we  were  rolling  and  soaking  in  the  midst 
of  it,  the  lightning  hissing  through  the  rain,  and  show- 
ing it  glitter;  while  every  five  minutes  came  a  burst  of 
thunder  and  then  a  rattle  fit  to  split  one's  ears.  At  length, 
just  as  the  rain  began  to  slacken,  you  could  see  it  lift  bodily, 


n6  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  standing  sheets  of  it  drove  right  against  our  canvas 
and  through  the  awnings — when  we  made  out  the  .French 
brig  with  her  jib,  topsails,  and  boom-mainsail  full,  lean- 
ing over  as  she  clove  through  it  before  the  wind. 

"The  sauall  burst  into  our  wet  topsails  as  loud  as  the 
thunder,  with  a  flash  almost  like  the  lightning  itself,  taking 
us  broad  abeam;  the  ship  groaned  and  shook  for  a  minute 
ere  gathering  way  and  falling  off,  and  when  she  rose  and 
began  to  go  plunging  through  the  black  surges,  no  brig 
was  to  be  seen:  every  man  on  deck  let  his  breath  out 
almost  in  a  cry,  scarce  feeling  as  yet  but  it  was  equal 
to  losing  sight  for  ever  of  our  late  shipmates,  or  the  least 
hope  of  them.  The  passengers,  ladies  and  all,  crowded  in 
the  companion-hatch  in  absolute  terror,  every  face  aghast, 
without  thinking  of  the  rain  and  spray;  now  and  then 
the  sulky  crest  of  a  bigger  wave  would  be  caught  sight 
of  beyond  the  bulwarks,  as  the  sea  rose  with  its  green 
back  curling  over  into  white ;  and  you  'd  have  said  the 
shudder  ran  down  into  the  cabin,  at  thought  of  seeing 
one  or  other  of  the  lost  boat's  crew  come  weltering  up 
from  the  mist  and  vanish  again.  I  knew  it  was  of  no  use, 
but  I  held  on  in  the  weather  mizzen-rigging,  and  looked  out 
to  westward,  against  a  wild  break  of  light  which  the  set- 
ting sun  made  through  the  troughs  of  the  sea;  once  and 
again  I  could  fancy  I  saw  the  boat  lift  keel  up,  far  off 
betwixt  me  and  the  fierce  glimmer. 

"  'Oh,  do  you  see  them  ?  do  you  not  see  it  yet !'  was 
passed  up  to  me  over  and  over,  from  one  sharp-pitched  voice 
to  another;  but  all  I  could  answer  was  to  shake  my  head. 
At  last,  one  by  one,  they  went  below;  and  after  what  had 
happened,  I  must  say  I  could  easily  fancy  what  a  chill, 
dreary-like,  awful  notion  of  the  sea  must  have  come  for  the 
first  time  on  a  landsman,  not  to  speak  of  delicate  young  girls 
fresh  from  home,  at  sight  of  the  drenched  quarter-deck  lean- 
ing bare  down  to  leeward,  the  sleet  and  spray  battering 
bleak  against  the  round-house  doors,  where  I  had  seen  Miss 
Hyde  led  sobbing  in,  with  her  wet  hair  about  her  face;  then 
the  ship  driving  off  from  where  she  had  lost  them,  with  her 
three  strong  lower-masts  aslant  into  the  gale,  ghastly-white 
and  dripping — her  soaked  sheets  cf  canvas  blown  gray  and 
stiff  into  the  rigging,  and  it  strained  taut  as  iron ;  while  you 
saw  little  of  her  higher  than  the  tops,  as  the  scud  and  the 
dark  _ together  closed  aloft.  Poor  Miss  Fortescue's  mother 
was  in  fits  below  in  her  berth — the  two  watches  were  on 
the  yards  aloft,  where  no  eye  could  see  them,  struggling 


A  SEA  STORY  117 

hard  to  furl  and  reef;  so  altogether  it  was  a  gloomy  enough 
moment.  I  stayed  awhile  on  deck,  wrapped  in  a  pea-coat, 
keeping  my  feet  and  hanging  on,  and  thinking  how  right 
down  in  earnest  matters  could  turn  of  a  sudden.  I  was  n't 
remarkably  thoughtful  in  these  days,  I  dare  say,  but  there 
did  I  keep,  straining  my  eyes  into  the  mist  to  see,  1  could  n't 
tell  what,  and  repeating  over  and  over  again  to  myself 
these  few  words  out  of  the  prayer-book,  'In  the  midst  of 
life  we  are  in  death,'  though  scarce  knowing  what  I  said. 


CHAPTER  X. 

"HOWEVER,  the  Indiaman's  officers  and  crew  had  work 
enough  in  managing  her  at  present:  after  a  sunset  more 
like  the  putting  out  of  him  than  anything  else,  with  a  flaring 
snuff  and  a  dingy  sort  of  smoke  that  followed,  the  wind  grew 
from  sou'-west  into  a  regular  long  gale,  that  drove  the 
tops  of  the  heavy  seas  into  the  dead-lights  astern,  rising  aft 
out  of  the  dark  like  so  many  capes,  with  the  snow  drifting  off 
them  over  the  poop.  At  midnight,  it  blew  great  guns,  with 
a  witness;  the  ship,  under  storm  staysails  and  close-reefed 
main-topsail,  going  twelve  knots  or  more,  when,  as  both 
the  captain  and  mate  reckoned,  we  were  near  St.  Helena 
on  our  present  course,  and  to  haul  on  a  wind  was  as  much  as 
her  spars  were  worth;  her  helm  was  put  hard  down,  and  we 
lay  to  for  morning,  the  ship  drifting  off  bodily  to  leeward  with 
the  water.  The  night  was  quite  dark,  the  rain  coming  in  sud- 
den spits  out  of  the  wind ;  you  only  heard  the  wet  gale  sob  and 
hiss  through  the  bare  rigging  into  her  storm  canvas,  when 
the  lookout  men  ahead,  sung  out,  'Land — land  close  to  star- 
board !'  'Bless  me,  sir,'  said  the  mate  to  the  captain,  'it 's 
the  Rock — well  that  we  did —  'Hard  up !  hard  up  with 
the  helm!'  yelled  the  men  again,  'it 's  a  ship!' 

"1  ran  to  the  weather  main-chains  and  saw  a  broad  black 
mass,  as  it  were,  rising  high  abeam,  and  seeming  to  come  out 
from  the  black  of  the  night,  with  a  gleam  or  two  in  it  which 
they  had  taken  for  lights  ashore  in  the  island.  The  'Seringa- 
patam's'  wheel  was  put  up  already,  but  she  hung  in  the  gale, 
doubtful  whether  to  fall  off  or  not:  and  the  moment  she  did 
sink  into  the  trough,  we  should  have  had  a  sea  over  her 
broadside  fit  to  wash  away  men,  boats,  and  all — let  alone  the 
other  ship  bearing  down  at  twelve  knots.  'Show  the  head 


u8  THE  GREEN   HAND 

of  the  fore-topmast-staysail!'  shouted  I  with  all  my  strength 
to  the  forecastle,  and  up  it  went  slapping  its  hanks  to  the 
blast — the  Indiaman  sprang  round  heenng  to  her  ports  on  the 
next  sea,  main-topsail  before  the  wind,  and  the  staysail  down 
again.  Next  minute  a  large  ship,  with  the  foam  washing  over 
her  catheads,  and  her  martingale  gear  dripping  under  the 
huge  white  bowsprit,  came  lifting  close  past  us —  as  black  as 
shadows  aloft,  save  the  glimmer  of  her  maintack  to  the 
lanterns  aboard —  and  knot  after  knot  of  dim  faces  above  her 
bulwarks  shot  by,  till  you  saw  her  captain  standing  high  in 
the  mizzen-ehains,  with  a  speaking-trumpet.  He  roared  out 
something  or  other  through  it,  and  the  skipper  sung  out 
under  both  his  hands,  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  in  answer;  but  it  turned 
out  after  that  nobody  knew  what  it  was,  unless  it  might  be,  as 
I  thought,  'Where  are  you  going?'  The  minute  following, 
we  saw  her  quarter-lanterns  like  two  will-o'-the-wisps  beyond 
a  wave,  and  she  was  gone —  a  big  frigate  running  under  half 
her  canvas,  strong  though  the  gale  blew. 

"'Why,  Mr.  Finch,'  said  Captain  Williamson,  as  soon  as 
we  had  time  to  draw  breath,  'who  was  that  bid  show  the 
f o'topmast-stays'l ;  't  wan't  you?'  'No,' said  the  mate,  'I  'd  like 
to  know  who  had  the  hanged  impudence  to  give  orders  here 
without —  -'  'Well  now,  Finch,'  continued  the  old  skipper, 
'I  'm  not  sure  but  that  was  our  only  chance  at  the  moment, 
sir ;  and  if  't  was  one  of  the  men,  why  I  'd  pass  it  over,  or  even 
give  him  an  extra  glass  of  grog  in  a  quiet  way.'  No  one  could 
say  who  it  was,  however;  and,  for  my  part,  the  sight  of  the 
frigate  made  me  still  more  cautious  than  before  of  letting  out 
what  Westwood  and  I  were.  In  fact,  I  could  n't  help  feeling 
rather  uneasy,  and  I  was  glad  to  hear  the  superstitious  old 
sailmaker  whispering  about  how  he  feared  there  was  no  luck 
to  be  looked  for  'when  drowned  men  and  ghostesses  began  to 
work  the  ship !' 

"The  first  streak  of  dawn  was  hardly  seen,  when  a  sail 
could  be  made  out  in  it,  far  on  our  lee  bow,  which  the  officers 
supposed  to  be  the  frigate.  Westwood  and  I,  however,  were 
of  opinion  it  was  the  French  brig,  although  by  sunrise  we  lost 
sight  of  her  again.  Every  one  in  the  cuddy  talked  of  our  un- 
fortunate friends  and  their  melancholy  fate;  even  Ford  and 
Winterton  were  missed,  while  old  Mr.  Eollock  had  been  the 
life  of  the  passengers.  But  there  was  naturally  still  more  felt 
for  the  poor  girl  Fortescue;  it  made  all  of  us  gloomy  for  a 
day  or  two;  though  the  fresh  breeze  and  the  Indiaman's  fast 
motion,  after  our  wearisome  spell  of  a  calm,  did  a  great  deal 
to  bring  things  round  again.  Westwood  was  greatly  taken 


A  SEA  STORY  119 

up  with  my  account  of  the  brig  and  her  people,  both  of  us 
agreeing  there  was  somewhat  suspicious  about  her,  though  1 
thought  she  was  probably  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  slaver, 
and  he  had  a  notion  she  was  after  something  deeper:  what 
that  might  be,  't  was  hard  to  conceive,  as  they  did  n't  appear 
like  pirates.  One  thing,  however,  we  did  conclude  from  the 
matter,  that  the  brig  couldn't  have  been  at  all  inclined 
for  visitors;  and,  in  fact,  there  was  little  doubt  but  she 
would  actually  refuse  letting  the  boat  aboard,  if  they  reached 
her;  so  in  all  likelihood  our  unhappy  friends  had  been 
swamped  on  that  very  account,  just  as  the  squall  came  on. 
When  this  idea  got  about  the  ship,  of  course  you  may  suppose 
neither  passengers  nor  crew  'to  have  felt  particularly  amiable 
towards  the  French  vessel ;  and  if  we  had  met  her  again,  with 
any  good  occasion  for  it,  all  hands  were  much  inclined  to  give 
her  a  right-down  thrashing,  if  not  to  make  prize  of  her  as  a 
bad  character. 

"  'Well,  Tom,'  said  I  to  Westwood  one  day,  'I  wish  these 
good  folks  may  n't  be  disappointed,  but  I  do  suspect  this 
blessed  mate  of  ours  will  turn  out  to  have  run  us  into  some 
fine  mess  or  other  with  his  navigation !  Did  you  notice  how 
Ulue  the  sky  looked  this  morning,  over  to  eastward,  compared 
with  what  it  did  just  now  where  the  sun  set?'  'No,'  said 
Westwood,  'not  particularly;  but  what  of  that'f  'Why,  in 
the  "Iris," '  replied  I,  'we  used  always  to  reckon  that  a  sign, 
hereabouts,  of  our  being  near  the  land!  Just  you  see  now, 
to-morrow  morning,  if  the  dawn  has  n't  a  hazy  yellow  look  in 
it  before  the  breeze  fails ;  in  which  case  't  is  the  African  coast 
to  a  certainty !  Pity  these  "Hyson  Mundungo"  men,  as  Jack 
calls  them,  should  n't  have  their  eyes  about  them  as  well  as  on 
the  log-slate.  I  dare  say  now,'  continued  I,  laughing,  'you 
heard  the  first  mate  bothering  lately  about  the  great  variation 
in  the  compass  here  ?  Well,  what  do  you  suppose  was  the  rea- 
son of  it,  but  that  sly  devil  of  a  kitmagar  shoving  in  his  block 
for  grinding  curry  under  the  feet  of  the  binnacle  every  time 
he  was  done  using  it !  I  saw  him  get  a  kick  one  morning  from 
the  man  at  the  wheel,  who  chanced  to  look  down  and  notice 
him.  Gocd  solid  iron  it  is,  though  painted  and  polished  like 
marble,  and  the  circumcised  rascal  unluckily  considered  the 
whole  binnacle  as  a  sort  of  second  Mecca  for  security.'  'Hang 
the  fellow!'  said  Westwood,  'but  I  don't  see  much  to  laugh 
at,  Ned.  Why,  if  you  're  right,  we  shall  all  be  soaked  and 
fried  into  African  fever  before  reaching  the  Cape,  and  we  've 
had  misfortunes  enough  already.  Only  think  of  an  exquisite 
creature  like  Miss '  'Oh,'  interrupted  I,  fancying  Master 


i-2o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

Tom  began  lately  to  show  sufficient  admiration  for  her, 
'betwixt  an  old  humdrum  and  a  conceited  fool  like  that,  what 
could  you  expect?  All  I  say  is,  my  dear  parson,  stand  by 
for  a  pinch  when  it  comes.' 

"On  going  down  to  tea  in  the  cuddy,  we  found  the  party 
full  of  spirits,  and  for  the  first  time  there  was  no  mention  of 
their  lost  fellow  passengers,  except  amongst  a  knot  of  cadets 
and  writers  rather  elevated  by  the  Madeira  after  dinner,  who 
were  gathered  round  the  Reverend  Mr.  Knovvles,  pretending 
to  talk  regretfully  of  his  Yankee  friend  Mr.  Daniel  Snout. 
'Yes,  gentlemen,'  said  the  missionary,  who  was  a  worthy, 
pimple-hearted  person,  'in  spite  of  some  uncouthness,  and  per- 
haps limited  views,  the  result  of  defective  education,  he  was 
an  excellent  man,  I  think.'  'Oh  certainly,  certainly,'  said  a 
writer,  looking  to  his  friends,  'and  the  one  thing  needful  you 
spoke  of  just  now,  sir,  I  dare  say  he  had  it  always  in  his  eye, 
now  ?'  'Mixed,  I  fear,'  replied  the  missionary,  'with  some  ele- 
ment of  worldly  feeling,  for  in  America  they  are  apt  to  make 
even  the  soul,  as  well  as  religious  association,  matter  of  com- 
merce; but  Mr.  Snout,  I  have  reason  to  be  assured,  had  the 
true  welfare  of  India  at  heart.  We  had  much  interesting 
conversation  on  the  subject.'  'Ah,'  saij  the  sharp  civilians, 
'he  was  fond  of  getting  information,  was  poor  Daniel.  Was 
that  why  he  asked  you  so  many  questions  about  the  Hindoo 
gods,  Mr.  Knowles?'  'He  already  possessed  much  general 
knowledge  of  their  strange  mythology  himself,'  answered  the 
missionary,  'and  I  confess  I  was  surprised  at  it,  especially  as 
he  confessed  to  me  that  that  gorgeous  country,  with  its 
many  boundless  capabilities,  should  have  occupied  his 
thoughts  more  and  more  from  boyhood,  amidst  the  secular 
activity  of  modern  life — even  as  it  occurred  unto  myself !' 

"Here  the  worthy  man  took  off  his  large  spectacles,  gave 
them  a  wipe,  and  put  them  on  again,  while  he  finished  his  tea. 
'Before  this  deplorable  dispensation,'  continued  he  again, 
'he  was  on  the  point  of  revealing  to  me  a  great  scheme  at 
once  for  the  enlightenment,  I  believe,  of  that  benighted  land, 
and  for  more  lucrative  support  to  those  engaged  in  it.  I  fear, 
gentlemen,  it  was  enthusiasm — but  I  have  grounds  for  think- 
ing that  our  departed  friend  has  left  in  this  vessel  many 
packages  of  volumes  translated  into  several  dialects  of  the 
great  Hindoo  tongue — not  omitting,  I  am  convinced,  the  best 
of  books.'  'Where!'  exclaimed  several  of  the  cadets,  rather 
astonished.  'Well!  poor  Snout  can't  have  been  such  a  bad 
fellow,  after  all!'  'All  hum!'  said  the  writer,  doubtfully, 
'depend  upon  it.  I  should  like  now  to  have  a  peep  at 


A  SEA  STORY  121 

Jonathan's  bales!'  'I  myself  have  thought,  also,'  said  the 
missionary,  'it  would  gratify  me  to  look  into  his  apartment — 
and  were  it  permitted  to  use  one  or  two  of  the  volumes,  1 

should  cheerfully  011  our  arrival  in  Bom '    'Come  along/ 

said  the  cadets — 'let 's  have  a  look ! — should  n't  wonder  to  see 
Daniel  beside  his  lion  yet,  within !  or  hear  "Guess  I  ain't." ' 
'My  young  friends,'  said  the  missionary,  as  we  all  went  along 
the  lighted  passage,  'such  levity  is  unseemly' ;  and  indeed  the 
look  of  the  stateroom  door,  fastened  outside,  as  the  steward 
had  left  it  before  the  gale  came  on,  made  the  brisk  cadets 
keep  quiet  till  the  lashing  on  it  was  unfastened — 't  was  so  like 
breaking  in  upon  a  ghost.  However,  as  it  chanced,  Mr.  Snout's 
goods  had  got  loose  during  her  late  roll,  and  heaped  down  to 
leeward  against  the  door — so,  whenever  they  turned  the 
handle,  a  whole  bundle  of  packages  came  tumbling  out  of  the 
dark  as  it  burst  open,  with  a  shower  of  small  affairs  like  so 
many  stones  after  them. 

"  'What 's  all  this  'f  exclaimed  the  cadets,  stooping  to 
look  at  the  articles  by  the  lamp-light,  strewed  as  they  were 
over  the  deck.  The  reverend  gentleman  stooped,  too,  stood 
straight,  wiped  his  spectacles,  and  fixed  them  on  his  nose, 
then  stooped  again;  at  length  one  long  exclamation  of 
surprise  broke  out  of  his  mouth.  They  were  nothing  but 
little  ugly  images  done  in  earthenware,  painted  and  gilt, 
and  all  exactly  the  same:  the  writer  dived  into  a  canvas 
package,  and  there  was  a  lot  of  a  different  kind,  somewhat 
larger  and  uglier.  Every  one  made  free  with  a  bale  for  him- 
self, shouting  out  his  discoveries  to  the  rest.  'I  say,  Smythe, 
this  is  Vishnu,  it 's  marked  in  the  corner !'  'I  say,  Kamsay, 
here 's  Brahma !'  'Ha !  ha !  ha !  if  7  have  n't  got  JSeeva !'  '1 
say,  what 's  this  though  ?'  screamed  a  young  lad,  hauling  at 
the  biggest  bale  of  all,  while  the  missionary  stood  stock 
upright,  a  perfect  picture  of  bewilderment,  'Lo!'  being  all  he 
could  say.  The  lad  had  lighted  on  a  gross  or  so  of  hideous 
gentlemen  and  ladies  with  three  heads  and  five  arms,  packed 
nicely  through  each  other  in  cotton,  but  inside  the  stateroom. 
At  this  last  prize,  however,  the  poor  missionary  could  stand 
it  no  longer.  'Oh !  oh !'  groaned  he,  clapping  his  hand  to  his 
head,  and  walking  slowly  off  to  his  berth ;  while,  as  the  truth 
gleamed  on  the  cadets  and  us,  we  sat  down  on  the  deck 
amidst  the  spoil,  and  roared  with  laughter  like  to  go  into  in'ts, 
at  the  unfortunate  Yankee's  scheme  for  converting  India.* 

•It  is  here  due  to  the  credit  of  onr  friend  the  captain,  who  was  not  unusually 
ima<rinati ve  for  a  sailor,  to  state,  that  this  speculation,  as  a  commercial  one.  is 
strictly  and  literally  a  fact,  as  the  Anglo-Indian  of  Calcutta  can  probably 


122  THE  GREEN   HAND 

I  had  found  the  American  by  no  means  to  my  fancy  as  a 
berth-mate,  so  after  some  dealings  with  the  steward,  I  not 
only  had  secured  a  pretty  comfortable  berth  for  my  poor 
friend  Westwood,but  one  for  myself.  This  had  been,  in  short, 
roon  afterwards  managed,  with  the  help  of  some  shifting 
among  the  best-natured  of  the  young  cadets. 

"  'Well — hang  me !'  said  a  writer,  as  soon  as  he  could 
speak,  'but  this  is  a  stroke  beyond  the  Society  for  Diffusing 
Useful  Knowledge!'  'Every  man  his  own  priest — ha!  ha! 
ha!'  shouted  another.  'I  say,  Cmythe,'  sung  out  a  cadet, 
'just  fancy — ha !  ha !  "D.  Snout,  Esquire,  and  Co." — ho !  ho ! 
ho !  you  know  it 's  too  rich  to  enjoy  by  ourselves,  "if 7/thullogy 
store,"  Bombay,  near  the  cathedral!'  'Cheap  Brahmas, 
wholesale  and  retail — eh?  families  supplied!'  'By  George! 
he 's  a  genius  lost !'  said  Smythe ;  'but  the  parson  need  n't 
have  broken  with  him  for  that — I  should  n't  wonder,  now,  if 
they  had  joined  partnership,  but  Daniel  might  have  thought 
of  mining  all  their  clay  heads  with  gunpowder  and  percussion 
locks,  so  that  the  missionary  could  have  gone  round  after- 
wards and  blown  up  heathenship  by  a  touch !' 

"The  noise  of  all  this  soon  brought  along  the  rest  of  the 
gentlemen,  and  few  could  help  laughing.  When  the  thing 
got  wind  on  deck,  however,  neither  the  old  skipper  nor  the 
men  seemed  to  like  it  much;  what  with  the  notion  of  the 
ship's  being  taken,  as  it  were,  by  a  thousand  or  two  of  ugly 
little  imps  and  Pagan  idols,  besides  bringing  up  a  drowned 
man's  concerns,  and  'yawhawing,'  as  they  said,  into  his  very 
door — it  was  thought  the  best  thing  to  have  them  all  chucked 
overboard  next  morning. 

'  'T  was  a  beautifully  fine  night,  clear  aloft,  and  the  moon 
rising  large  on  our  larboard  bow,  out  of  a  delicate  pale  sort  of 
haze,  as  the  ship  headed  southard  with  the  breeze;  for  I 
marked  the  haze  particularly,  as  well  as  the  color  of  the  sky, 
that  lay  high  over  it,  like  a  deep-blue  hollow  going  away  down 
beyond,  and  filling  up  with  the  light.  There  was  no  living 
belpw^  for  heat,  and  the  showers  of  cockroaches  that  went 
whirring  at  the  lamps,  and  marching,  with  their  horrid  feelers 
out,  straight  up  your  legs;  so,  fore  and  aft,  the  decks  were 
astir  with  us  all.  Talk  of  moonlight  on  land !  but  even  in  the 
tropics  you  have  to  see  it  pouring  right  down,  as  it  was  then, 
the  whole  sky  full  of  it  aloft  as  the  moon  drew  farther  up, 
till  it  came  raining,  as  it  were,  in  a  single  sheet  from  one 

testify.  The  bold  and  all  but  poetical  catholicity  of  the  idea  could  have  been 
reached,  perhaps,  by  the  "  progressing  "  American  intellect  alone,  while  Staf- 
fordshire, it  is  certain,  furnished  its  realization;  the  investment,  it  is  never- 
theless believed,  proved  eventually  unprofitable. 


A  SEA  STORY  123 

bend  of  the  horizon  to  another,  the  water  scarce  rippling 
to  the  breeze,  only  heaving  in  long  low  swells  that  you 
heard  just  wash  her  bends;  one  track  brighter  than  the 
rest,  shining  and  glancing  like  a  looking-glass  drawn  out,  for 
a  mile  or  so  across  our  quarter,  and  the  ship's  shadow  under 
her  other  bow.  You  saw  the  men  far  forward  in  her  head,  and 
clustered  in  a  heap  on  the  bowsprit-heel,  enjoying  it  mightily, 
and  looking  out  or  straight  aloft,  as  if  to  polish  their 
mahogany  faces,  and  get  their  bushy  whiskers  silvered ;  while 
the  awnings  being  off  the  poop,  the  planks  in  it  came  out  like 
so  much  ivory  from  the  shade  of  the  spanker,  which  sent 
down  a  perfect  gush  of  light  on  every  one  moving  past.  For 
the  air,  again,  as  all  the  passengers  said,  it  was  balmy,  though 
for  my  part — perhaps  it  might  be  a  fancy  of  mine — but  now 
and  then  I  thought  it  sniffed  a  little  too  much  that  way  to  be 
altogether  pleasant  in  the  circumstances. 

"Of  course,  no  sooner  had  I  caught  sight  of  Sir  Charles 
Hyde  than  I  looked  for  his  daughter,  and  last  saw  some  one 
talking  to  a  young  lady  seated  near  the  after-gratings,  with 
her  head  turned  round  sea-ward, whom  it  didn't  require  much 
guessing  for  me  to  name.  Not  having  seen  her  at  all  since  the 
affair  of  the  boats,  I  strolled  aft,  when  I  was  rather  surprised 
to  find  that  her  companion  was  Tom  Westwood,  and  they 
seemed  in  the  thick  of  an  interesting  discourse.  The  instant 
I  got  near,  however,  they  broke  it  off ;  the  young  lady  turned 
her  head — and  never,  I  d  swear,  was  woman's  face  seen  fairer 
than  I  thought  hers  at  that  moment — when  the  bright  moon- 
light, that  had  seemed  trying  to  steal  round  her  loose  bonnet 
and  peep  in,  fell  straight  down  at  once  from  her  forehead  to 
her  chin,  appearing,  as  it  were,  to  dance  in  under  her  long 
eyelashes  to  meet  her  eyes ;  while  one  fall  of  her  brown  hair 
hung  bright  in  it,  glistening  against  the  shadow  round  her 
cheek,  that  drew  the  charming  line  of  her  nose  and  lip  as 
clear  as  the  horizon  on  the  sky!  The  very  moment,  in  fact, 
that  a  bitter  thought  flashed  into  my  mind,  for  to  my  fancy 
she  looked  vexed  at  seeing  me,  and  a  color  seemed  mounting 
tip  to  her  cheek,  even  through  the  fairy  sort  of  glimmer  on  it. 
Could  Tom  Westwood  have  been  acting  no  more  than  the 
clerical  near  such  a  creature?  and  if  a  fellow  like  him  took 
it  in  his  head,  what  chance  had  I?  The  next  minute, 
accordingly,  she  rose  off  her  seat,  and  gave  me  a  slight  bow 
in  answer  to  mine,  and  walked  direct  to  the  gallery  stair, 
where  she  disappeared. 

"'We  were  talking  of  that  unlucky  adventure  the  other 
day,'  said  Westwood,  glancing  at  me,  but  rather  taken  aback, 


124  THE  GREEN  HAND 

as  I  thought.  'Ay?'  said  I,  carelessly.  'Yes,'  continued 
he;  'Miss  Hyde  had  no  idea  you  and  I  were  particularly 
acquainted,  and  seems  to  think  me  a  respectable  clergyman, 
but  1  must  tell  you,  Ned,  she  has  rather  a  suspicious  opinion 
of  yourself!'  'Oh,  indeed!'  said  I  suddenly.  'Fact,  Ned,' 
said  he;  'she  even  remembers  having  seen  you  before,  some- 
where or  other — I  hope,  my  dear  fellow,  it  wasn't  on  the 
stage?'  'Ha!  ha!  how  amusing!'  1  said,  with  the  best 
laugh  I  could  get  up.  'At  any  rate,  Collins,'  he  went  on, 
'she  sees  through  your  feigned  way  of  carrying  on,  and  knows 
you  're  neither  griffin  nor  landlubber,  but  a  sailor,  for  I  fancy 
this  is  not  the  first  time  the  young  lady  has  met  with  the 
cloth!  What  do  you  suppose  she  asked  me  now,  quite 
seriously?'  'Oh,  I  couldn't  guess,  of  course,'  replied  1, 

almost  with  a  sneer;  'pray  don't '     'Why,  she  inquired 

what  could  be  the  design  of  one  concealing  his  profession  so 
carefully — and  actually  appearing  to  be  on  a  secret  under- 
standing with  some  of  the  sailors !  Directly  after,  she  asked 
whether  that  brig  might  n't  really  have  been  a  pirate,  and 
taken  off  the  poor  general,  Miss  Fortescue,  and  the  rest?' 
'Ah,'  said  I,  coldly,  'and  if  I  might  venture  to  ask,  what  did 
you —  'Oh,  of  course,'  replied  Westwood,  laughing,  '1 
could  only  hide  my  amusement  and  profess  doubts,  you  know, 
Ned !'  'Very  good  joke,  Mr.  Westwood,'  thought  I  to  myself, 
'but  at  least  you  can't  weather  on  me  quite  so  innocently,  my 
fine  fellow !  I  did  n't  think  it  of  him,  after  all !  By  heaven,  I 
did  not!' 

"By  the  bye,  Collins,'  exclaimed  Westwood  in  a  little,  as 
he  kept  his  eye  astern,  'there 's  something  away  yonder  on  our 
lee  quarter  that  I  've  been  watching  for  these  last  ten  minutes 
— what  do  think  it  may  be?  Look!  just  in  the  tail  of  the 
moonshine  yonder !'  What  it  might  be,  I  cared  little  enough 
at  the  time,  but  I  did  give  a  glance,  and  saw  a  little  black  dot, 
as  it  were,  rising  and  falling  with  the  long  run  of  the  water, 
apparently  making  way  before  the  breeze.  'Only  a  bit  of 
wood,  I  dare  say,'  remarked  I ;  'but  whatever  it  is,  at  any  rate, 
the  drift  will  take  it  far  to  leeward  of  us,  so  you  need  n't 
mind.'  Here  we  heard  a  steward  come  up  and  say  to  the  first 
officer,  who  was  waiting  with  the  rest  to  take  a  lunar  observa- 
tion, that  Captain  Williamson  had  turned  in  unwell,  but  he 
wanted  to  hear  when  they  found  the  longitude;  accordingly 
they  got  their  altitude,  and  went  on  making  the  calculations 
on  deck.  _ 'Well,  steward,' said  the  mate,  after  a  little  humming 
and  hawing,  'go  down  and  tell  the  captain,  in  the  meantime, 


A  SEA  STORY  125 

about  five  east;  but  I  think  it 's  a  good  deal  over  the  mark — 
say  1  '11  be  down  myself  directly.' 

"  'A  long  sight  below  the  mark,  rather !'  said  I,  walking 
aft  again,  where  Westwood  kept  still  looking  out  for  the  black 
dot.  'You  '11  see  it  nearer  now,  Ned,'  said  he ;  'more  like  a 
negro's  head,  or  his  hand,  than  a  bit  of  wood — eh'f  'Curious !' 
1  said;  'it  lies  well  up  for  our  beam  still,  'spite  of  the  breeze. 
Must  be  a  shark's  back  fin,  I  think,  making  for  convoy.  In  ten 
minutes  longer  the  light  swell  in  the  distance  gave  it  a  lift 
up  fair  into  the  moonshine;  it  gleamed  for  a  moment,  and 
then  seemed  to  roll  across  into  the  blue  glimmer  of  the  sea.  'I 
say,  Collins,'  said  Westwood,  gazing  eagerly  at  it,  '  't  is  more 
like  a  bottle,  to  my  sight !'  We  walked  back  and  forward, 
looking  each  time  over  the  taffrail,  till  at  length  the  affair  in 
Question  could  be  seen  dipping  and  creeping  ahead  in  the 
smooth  shining  wash  of  the  surface,  just  like  to  go  bobbing 
across  our  bows  and  be  missed  to  windward.  'Crossing  our 
hawse  I  do  declare! — Hanged  if  that  ain't  fore-reaching  on  us, 
with  a  witness !'  exclaimed  the  two  of  us  together :  'And  a 
bottlo  it  is!'  said  Westwood. 

"I  slipped  down  the  poop-stair,  and  along  to  the  fore- 
castle, where  I  told  Jacobs;  when  two  or  three  of  the  men 
went  out  on  the  martingale  stays,  with  the  bight  of  a  line  and 
a  couple  of  blocks  in  it,  ready  to  throw  round  this  said  float- 
ing oddity,  and  haul  it  alongside  as  it  surged  past.  Shortly 
after  we  had  it  safe  in  our  hands;  a  square-built  old  Dutch- 
man it  was,  tight-corked,  with  a  red  rag  round  the  neck,  and 
crusted  over  with  salt — almost  like  one  of  Vanderdecken's 
messages  home,  coming  up  as  it  did  from  the  wide  glittering 
sea,  of  a  tropical  moonlight  night,  seven  weeks  or  so  after  our 
leaving  land.  The  men  who  had  got  it  seemed  afraid  of  their 
prize,  so  Westwood  and  I  had  no  difficulty  in  smuggling  it 
away  below  to  our  berth,  where  we  both  sat  down  on  a  locker 
and  looked  at  one  another.  'What  poor  wretch  hove  this  over- 
board, I  wonder,  now,'  said  he;  'I  dare  say  it  may  have 
knocked  about,  God  knows  how  long,  since  his  affair  was  set- 
tled.' 'Why ^  for  that  matter,  Westwood,' replied  I, 'I  fancy  it 's 
much  more  important  to  find  there  's  a  strong  easterly  current 
hereabouts  just  now.'* 

"Here  Westwood  got  a  corkscrew,  and  pulled  out  the  cork 
with  a  true  parson-like  gravity;  as  we  had  expected,  there 
was  a  paper  tacked  to  it,  crumpled  up,  and  scrawled  over  in 
what  we  could  only  suppose  was  Hood. 

*  Currents  are  designated  from  the  direction  they  run  tcnvards ;  winds,  the 
quarter  they  blow/rom. 


i26  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"  'No.  20,'  read  he,  'what  does  that  mean  ?'  'The  twentieth 
bottle  launched,  perhaps,'  said  I,  and  he  went  on— 'For  God  a 
sake,  if  you  find  this,  keep  to  the  south-west — we  are  going 
that  way,  we  think — we've  fallen  amongst  regular  thugs,  1 
fear_just  from  the  folly  of  these  three  griffins— (they  're  look- 
ing over  my  shoulder,  though) — we  are  not  ill-treated  yet,  but 

kept  below  and  watched — yours  in  haste '     'What  this 

signature  is  I  can't  say  for  the  life  of  me,  Ned;  no  date 
either.'  'Did  the  fellow  think  he  was  writing  by  post,  I  won- 
der ?'  said  I,  trying  to  make  it  out.  'By  the  powers,  Westwood, 
though,'  and  I  jumped  up,  'that  bottle  might  have  come  from 
the  Pacific,  't  is  true — but  what  if  it  were  old  llollock,  after 
all !  Thugs,  did  you  say  ?  Why,  I  should  n't  wonder  if  the 
jolly  old  planter  were  on  the  hooks  still.  That  rascally  brig !' 
And  accordingly,  on  trying  the  scrawl  at  the  end,  over  and 
over,  we  both  agreed  that  it  was  nothing  but  'X.  Rollock,'  " 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  next  evening  our  friend  the  captain  found  his  fair 
audience  by  the  tatfrail  increased  to  a  round  dozen,  while 
several  of  the  gentlemen  passengers  lounged  near,  and  the 
chief  officer  divided  his  attention  between  the  gay  group  of 
ladies  below  and  the  "fanning"  main-topsail  high  up,  with 
its  corresponding  studding-sail  hung  far  out  aloft  to  the 
breeze ;  the  narrative  having  by  this  time  contracted  a  sort  of 
professional  interest,  even  to  his  matter-of-fact  taste,  which 
enabled  him  to  enjoy  greatly  the  occasional  glances  of  sly 
humor  directed  to  him  by  his  superior,  for  whom  he  evidently 
entertained  a  kind  of  admiring  respect,  that  seemed  to  be 
enhanced  as  he  listened.  As  for  the  commander  himself,  he 
related  the  adventures  in  question  with  a  spirit  and  vivid- 
ness of  manner  that  contributed  to  them  no  small  charm: 
amusingly  contrasted  with  the  cool,  dry,  indifferent  sort  of 
gravity  of  countenance,  amidst  which  the  keen  gray  sea- 
wardly  eye,  under  the  peak  of  the  naval  cap,  kept  changing 
and  twinkling  as  it  seemed  to  run  through  the  experience  of 
youth  again — sometimes  almost  approaching  to  an  undeniable 
wink.  The  expression  of  it  at  this  time,  however,  was  more 
serious,  while  it  apepared  to  run  alono-  the  dotted  reef -band  of 
the  mizzen-topsail  above,  as  across  the  entry  in  a  log-book, 
and  as  if  there  were  something  interesting  to  come. 


A  SEA  STORY  127 

"Well,  my  dear  captain,"  asked  his  matronly  relative, 
"what  comes  next?  You  and  your  friend  had  picked  up  a — 
a — what  was  it  now!" 

"Ah!  I  remember,  ma'am,"  said  the  naval  man,  laughing; 
"the  bottle — that  was  where  I  was.  Well,  as  you  may  con- 
ceive, this  said  scrap  of  penmanship  in  the  bottle  did  take 
both  of  us  rather  on  end;  and  for  two  or  three  minutes  West- 
wood  and  I  sat  staring  at  each  other  and  the  uncouth-look- 
ing fist,  in  an  inquiring  sort  of  way,  like  two  cocks  over  a 
beetle.  Westwood,  for  his  part,  was  doubtful  of  its  being  the 
planter's  writing  at  all;  but  the  whole  thing,  when  I  thougb.1; 
of  it,  made  itself  as  clear  to  me,  so  far,  as  two  half -hitches,  and 
so  the  angrier  I  was  at  myself  for  being  done — by  a  frog-eating 
bloody-politeful  set  of  Frenchmen  like  these.  Could  we  only 
have  clapped  eyes  on  the  villainous  thieving  craft  at  the  time, 
by  Jove !  if  I  would  n't  have  manned  a  boat  from  the  India- 
man,  leave  or  no  leave,  and  boarded  her  in  another  fashion. 
But  where  they  were  now,  what  they  meant,  and  whether  we 
should  ever  see  them  again,  heaven  only  knew.  For  all  we 
could  say,  indeed,  something  strange  might  have  turned  up 
at  home  in  Europe — a  new  war,  old  Boney  got  loose  once 
more,  or  what  not — and  I  could  scarcely  fall  asleep  for  guess- 
ing and  bothering  over  the  matter,  as  restless  as  the  first  night 
we  cruised  down  the  Channel  in  the  old  'Pandora.' 

"Early  in  the  morning-watch  a  sudden  stir  of  the  men  on 
deck  woke  me,  and  I  bundled  up  in  five  minutes'  time.  But 
it  was  only  the  second  mate  setting  them  to  wash  decks,  and 
out  they  came  from  all  quarters,  yawning,  stretching  them- 
selves, and  tucking  up  their  trousers,  as  they  passed  the  full 
buckets  lazily  along;  while  a  couple  of  boys  could  be  seen 
hard  at  work  to  keep  the  head-pump  going,  up  against  the 
gray  sky  over  "the  bow.  However,  I  was  so  anxious  to  have 
the  first  lookout  ahead,  that  I  made  a  bold  push  through  the 
thick  of  it  for  the  bowsprit,  where  I  went  out  till  I  could  see 
nothing  astern  of  me  but  the  Indiaman's  big  black  bows  and 
figure-head,  swinging  as  it  were  round  the  spar  I  sat  upon, 
with  the  spread  of  her  canvas  coming  dim  after  me  out  of  the 
fog,  and  a  lazy  snatch  of  foam  lifting  to  her  cut-water  as  the 
breeze  died  away. 

"The  sun  was  just  beginning  to  rise;  ten  minutes  before 
it  had  been  almost  quite  dark ;  there  was  a  mist  on  the  water, 
and  the  sails  were  heavy  with  dew;  when  a  circle  began  to 
open  round  us,  where  the  surface  looked  as  smooth  and  dirty 
as  in  a  dock,  the  haze  seeming  to  shine  through,  as  the  sun- 
light came  sifting  through  it,  like  silver  gauze.  You  saw 


128  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  big  red  top  of  the  sun  glare  against  the  water-line, 
and  a  wet  gleam  of  crimson  came  sliding  from  one  smooth 
blue  swell  to  another;  while  the  back  of  the  haze  astern 
turned  from  blue  to  purple,  and  went  lifting  away  into 
vapory  streaks  and  patches.  All  of  a  sudden  the  ship  came 
clear  out  aloft  and  on  the  water,  with  her  white  streak  as 
bright  as  snow,  her  fore-royal  and  truck  gilded,  her  broad 
foresail  as  red  as  blood,  and  every  face  on  deck  shining  as 
they  looked  ahead,  where  I  felt  like  a  fellow  held  up  on  a 
toasting-fork,  against  the  fiery  wheel  the  sun  made  ere  clear- 
ing the  horizon.  Two  or  three  strips  of  cloud  melted  in  it  like 
lumps  of  sugar  in  hot  wine;  and  after  overhauling  the  whole 
seaboard  round  and  round,  I  kept  straining  my  eyes  into  the 
light,  with  the  notion  there  was  something  to  be  seen  in  that 
quarter,  but  to  no  purpose ;  there  was  n't  the  slightest  sign  of 
the  brig  or  any  other  blessed  thing.  What  struck  me  a  little, 
however, was  the  look  of  the  water  just  as  the  fog  was  clearing 
away;  the  swell  was  sinking  down,  the  wind  fallen  for  the 
time  to  a  dead  calm;  and  when  the  smooth  face  of  it  caught 
the  light  full  from  aloft,  it  seemed  to  come  out  all  over  long- 
winding  wrinkles  and  eddies,  running  in  a  broad  path,  as  it 
were,  twisted  and  woven  together,  right  into  the  wake  of  the 
sunrise. 

"When  I  came  inboard  from  the  bowsprit,  big  Harry  and 
another  grumpy  old  salt  were  standing  by  the  bitts,  taking  a 
forecastle  observation,  and  gave  me  a  squint,  as  much  as  to 
ask  if  I  had  come  out  of  the  east,  or  had  been  trying  to  pocket 
the  flying-jib  boom.  'D'  you  notice  anything  strange  about  the 
water  at  all  ?'  I  asked  in  an  off-hand  sort  of  way,  wishing  to 
see  if  the  men  had  remarked  aught  of  what  I  suspected.  The 
old  fellow  gave  me  a  queer  look  out  of  the  tail  of  his  eye,  and 
the  ugly  man  seemed  to  be  measuring  me  from  head  to  foot. 
'No,  sir,'  said  the  first,  carelessly;  'can't  say  as  how  1  does'; 
while  Harry  coolly  commenced  sharpening  his  sheath-knife 
on  his  shoe.  'Did  you  ever  hear  of  currents  hereabouts  ?'  said 
I  to  the  other  man.  'Hereaway !'  said  he.  'Why,  bless  ye,  sir, 
it 's  unpossible  as  I  could  ha'  heerd  tell  on  sich  a  thing,  'cause, 
ye  see,  sir,  there  ain't  none  so  far  out  at  sea,  sir — al'ays  axin' 
your  parding,  ye  know,  sir !'  while  he  hitched  up  his  trousers 
and  looked  aloft,  as  if  there  were  somewhat  wrong  about  the 
jib-halyards. 

"The  Indiaman  by  this  time  had  quite  lost  steerage-way 
and  came  sheering  slowly  round,  broadside  to  the  sun,  while 
the  water  began  to  glitter  like  a  single  sheet  of  quicksilver, 
trembling  and  swelling  to  the  firm  edge  of  it  far  off ;  the  pale 


A  SEA  STORY  129 

blue  sky  filling  deep  aloft  with  light,  and  a  long  white  haze 
growing  out  of  the  horizon  to  eastward.  I  kept  still  looking 
over  from  the  fore-chains  with  my  arms  folded,  and  an  eye  to 
the  water  on  the  starboard  side,  next  the  sun,  where,  just  a 
fathom  or  two  from  the  bright  copper  of  her  sheathing  along 
the  water-line,  you  could  see  into  it.  Every  now  and  then 
little  bells  and  bubbles,  as  I  thought,  would  come  up  in  it, 
and  break  short  of  the  surface;  and  sometimes  I  fancied  the 
line  of  a  slight  ripple,  as  fine  as  a  rope-yarn,  went  turning  and 
glistening  round  one  of  the  ship's  quarters,  across  her  shadow. 
Just  then  the  old  sailor  behind  me  shoved  his  face  over  the 
bulwark,  too,  all  warts  and  wrinkles,  like  a  ripe  walnut-shell, 
with  a  round  knob  of  a  nose  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  seemed 
to  be  watching  to  see  it  below,  when  he  suddenly  squirted  his 
tobacco  juice  as  far  out  as  possible  alongside,  and  gave  his 
mouth  a  wipe  with  the  back  of  his  tarry  yellow  hand;  catching 
my  eye  in  a  shamefaced  sort  of  way,  as  I  glanced  first  at 
him  and  then  at  his  floating  property. 

"I  leaned  listlessly  over  the  rail,  watching  the  patch  of 
oily  yellow  froth  as  it  floated  quietly  on  the  smooth  face 
of  the  water;  till  all  at  once  I  started  to  observe  that  be- 
yond all  question  it  had  crept  slowly  away  past  our  star- 
board bow,  clear  of  the  ship,  and  at  last  melted  into  the 
glittering  blue  brine.  The  two  men  noticed  my  attention, 
and  stared  along  with  me;  while  the  owner  of  the  precious 
cargo  himself  kept  looking  after  it  wistfully  into  the  wake  of 
the  sunlight,  as  if  he  were  a  little  hurt;  then  aloft  and 
round  about,  in  a  puzzled  sort  of  way,  to  see  if  the  ship 
had  n't  perhaps  taken  a  sudden  sheer  to  port.  'Why,  my  man,' 
I  said,  meeting  his  oyster-like  old  sea-eye,  'what 's  the 
reason  of  that? — perhaps  there  is  some  current  or  other  here, 
after  all,  eh  ?'  Just  as  he  meant  to  answer,  however,  I  noticed 
his  watchmate  give  him  a  hard  shove  in  the  ribs  with  his 
huge  elbow,  and  a  quick  screw  of  his  weather  top-light, 
while  he  kept  the  lee  one  doggedly  fixed  on  myself.  I 
accordingly  walked  slowly  aft  as  if  to  the  quarter-deck, 
and  came  round  the  long-boat  again,  right  abreast  of  them. 

"Harry  was  pacing  fore  and  aft  with  his  arms  folded, 
when  his  companion  made  some  remark  on  the  heat,  peering 
all  about  him,  and  then  right  up  into  the  air  aloft.  'Well 
then,  shipmate,'  said  Harry,  dabbing  his  handkerchief  back 
into  his  tarpaulin  again,  'I  've  seen  worse,  myself — ownly, 
't  was  in  the  Bight  o'  Benin,  look  ye — an'  afore  the  end 
o'  it,  d'  ye  see,  we  hove  o'erboard  nine  o'  a  crew,  let  alone 
six  dozen  odds  of  a  cargo!'  'Cargo!'  exclaimed  his  com- 


i3o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

panion,  in  surprise.  'Ay,  black  passingers  they  was,  ye  know, 
old  ship!'  answered  the  ugly  rascal,  coolly;  'an'  I  tell  ye 
what  it  is,  Jack,  I  never  sails  yet  with  passengers  aboard, 
but  some'at  bad  turned  up  in  the  end — ai'ays  one  or  another 
on  'em 's  got  a  foul  turn  in  his  conscience,  ye  see !  I  say, 
mate,'  continued  he,  looking  round,  'did  n't  ye  note  that  'ere 
longshore  looking  customer  as  walked  afc  just  now,  with 
them  soft  quest'ns  o'  his  about —  'Why,'  says  Jack,  'it's 
him  Jacobs  and  the  larboard  watch  calls  the  Green  Hand, 
an'  a  blessed  good  joke  they  has  about  him,  to  all  appear- 
ance, but  they  keeps  it  pretty  close.'  'Close,  do  they,'  growled 
Harry,  'I  does  n't  like  the  cut  of  his  jib,  I  tell  ye,  ship- 
mate !  Jist  you  take  my  word  for  it,  that  'ere  fellow 's 
done  some'at  bad  at  home,  or  he's  bent  on  some'at  bad 
afloat — it 's  all  one !  Don't  ye  mark  how  he  keeps  boxhaulin' 
and  skulking  fore  an'  aft,  not  to  say  looking  out  to  wind- 
'ard  every  now  an'  again,  as  much  as  he  expected  a  sail 
to  heave  in  sight?'  'Well,  I'm  blowed,  but  you're  right, 
Harry!'  said  the  other,  taking  off  his  hat  to  scratch  his 
head,  thoughtfully.  'Ay,  and  what 's  more,'  went  on  Harry, 
'it 's  just  corned  ath'art  me  as  how  I  've  clapped  eyes  on 
the  chap  somewheres  or  other  afore  this — if  I  don't  think 
it  was  amongst  a  gang  o'  Spanish  pirates  I  saw  tried  for 
their  lives,  and  let  off  in  the  Havanney !' 

'  'Thank  you,  my  man,'  thought  I,  as  I  leaned  against 
the  booms  on  the  other  side.  'Did  you? — a  wonder  it 
was  n't  in  the  Old  Bailey,  which  would  have  been  more 
possible,  though  less  romantic — seeing  in  the  Havannah  1 
never  was !'  The  curious  thing  was  that  I  began  to  have  a 
faint  recollection,  myself,  of  having  seen  this  same  cross- 
grained  beauty,  or  heard  his  voice  before;  though  where 
and  how  it  was  I  couldn't  for  the  life  of  me  say  at  the 
moment. 

"'Lor'  bless  us,  Harry!'  faltered  out  the  old  sailor,  'ye 
don't  mean  it! — sich  a  young,  soft-looked  shaver,  too!' 
'Them  smooth-skinned  sort  o'  coves  is  kimmonly  the  worst, 
mate,'  replied  Harry ;  'for  that  matter  ye  may  be  quite 
.sure  he's  got  his  chums  aboard — an'  how  does  we  know 
but  the  ship's  sold  from  stem  to  starn?  There's  that  'ere 
black-avizzed  parson,  now,  and  one  or  two  more  aft — cuss 
me  if  that  'ere  feller  smells  brine  for  the  first  time!  An' 
as  for  this  here  Bob  Jacobs  o'  yours,  blow  me  if  there 
ain't  over  many  of  his  kind  in  the  whole  larboard  watch, 
Jack!  A  man-o'-war's-man  ai'ays  a  blackguard  out  on  a 
man-o'-war,  look-ye!'  'Why,  bless  me,  shipmate,'  said  Jack, 


A  SEA  STORY  131 

lowering  his  voice,  'by  that  recknin',  a  man  don't  know  his 
friends  in  this  here  craft!  The  sooner  we  gives  the  mate  a 
hint,  the  better,  to  my  thinking?'  'No,  blow  me,  no,  Jack,' 
said  Harry,  'keep  all  fast,  or  ye '11  kick  up  a  worse  nitty, 
old  boy !  Just  you  hould  011  till  ye  see  what 's  to  turn  up — 
ownly  stand  by  and  look  out  for  squalls,  that 's  all !  There  's 
the  skipper  laid  up  below  in  his  berth,  I  hears — and  to 
my  notions,  that  'ere  mate  of  ours  is  no  more  but  a  blessed 
soldier,  with  his  navigation  an'  his  head-work,  an'  be  blowed 
to  him — where  's  he  runned  the  ship,  I  'd  like  to  know,  mess- 
mate !7  'Well,  strike  me  lucky  if  I  'm  fit  to  guess !'  answered 
Jack,  gloomily.  'No,  s'  help  me  Bob,  if  he  knows  hisself  V 
said  Harry.  'But  here 's  what  /  says,  anyhow — if  so  be 
we  heaves  in  sight  of  a  pirate,  or  bumps  ashore  on  a  ileyand 
i'  the  dark,  shiver  my  tawsels  if  I  does  n't  have  a  clip  with 
a  handspike  at  that  'ere  soft-sawderin'  young  blade  in 
the  straw  hat!'  'Well,  my  fine  fellow,'  thought  I,  'many 
thanks  to  you  again,  but  I  certainly  shall  look  out  for  you!' 
"All  this  time  I  could  n't  exactly  conceive  whether  the 
sulky  rascal  really  suspected  anything  of  the  kind,  or 
whether  he  was  n't  in  fact  sounding  his  companion,  and 
perhaps  others  of  the  crew,  as  to  how  far  they  would  go 
in  case  of  an  opportunity  for  mischief;  especially  when  I 
heard  him  begin  to  speculate  if  'that  'ere  proud  ould 
beggar  of  a  naboob,  aft  yonder,  must  n't  have  a  sight  o' 
gould  and  jewels  aboard  with  him!  Why,  for  the  matter 
o'  that,  mate,'  continued  he,  'I  does  n't  signify  the  twinklin' 
of  a  marline  spike,  mind  ye,  what  lubberly  trick  they 
sarves  this  here  craft,  so  be  ownly  ye  can  get  anyhow 
ashore,  when  all 's  done !  It 's  nouther  ship-law  nor  shore- 
law,  look  ye,  'mate,  as  houlds  good  on  a  lonely  dazart !'  'Ay, 
ay,  true  enough,  bo','  said  the  other,  'but  what  o'  that?  there 
ain't  much  signs  of  a  dazart,  I  reckon,  in  this  here  blue 
water !'  'Ho !'  replied  Harry,  rather  scornfully,  'that 's  'cause 
you  blue-water,  long-v'yage  chaps  is  n't  up  to  them,  brother. 
There's  you  and  that  'ere  joker  in  the  striped  slops,  Jack, 
chaffing  away  over  the  side  jist  now  about  a  current — con- 
founded sharp  he  thinks  hisself,  too — but  d  'ye  think  Harry 
Foster  ain't  got  his  weather-eye  open  ?  For  my  part,  1 
thinks  more  of  the  streak  o'  haze  yonder-away,  right  across 
the  starboard  bow,  nor  all  the  currents  in —  'Ay,  ay/ 
said  Jack,  stretching  out  again  to  look,  'the  heat,  you  means  ?' 
'Heat !'  exclaimed  the  ugly  topman,  'heat  be  blowed !  Hark 
ye,  mate,  it  may  be  a  strip  o'  cloud,  no  doubt,  or  the  steam 
over  a  sand-bank ;  but  so  be  the  calm  lasts  so  long,  and 


i  32  THE  GREEN  HAND 

you  sees  that  'ere  streak  again  by  sundown  with  a  touch 
o'  yallow  in  't ' 

"  'What — what — shipmate  ?'  a*sked  Jack,  breathless  with 
anxiety.  'Then  it's  the  black  coast  iv  Africay,  and  no  mis- 
take,' said  Harry.  'And  what's  more,'  continued  the  fellow, 
coolly,  after  taking  a  couple  of  short  turns,  'if  there  be's 
a  current,  why  look  ye,  it  '11  set  dead  in  to  where  the  land 
lays — an'  I  'm  blessed  if  there  's  one  aboard,  breeze  or  no 
breeze,  as  is  man  enough  for  to  take  her  out  o'  the  suck 
of  a  Africane  current.'  'The  Lord  be  with  us!'  exclaimed 
the  other  sailor,  in  alarm,  'what 's  to  be  done,  Harry,  bo' ; 
when  do  you  mean  for  to  let  them  know  aft?'  'Why, 
maybe  I  'm  wrong,  ye  know,  old  ship,'  said  Harry,  'an'  a 
man  mustn't  go  for  to  larn  his  betters,  ye  know;  by  this 
time  half  o'  the  watch  has  a  notion  on  it,  at  any  rate. 
There 's  Dick  White,  Jack  Jones,  Jim  Sidey,  an'  a  few 
more  Wapping  men,  means  to  stick  together  in  case  o' 
accidents ;  so  Jack,  man,  ye  need  n't  be  in  sich  an  a 
taking.  What  the'  (here  he  came  out  with  a  regular  string 
of  topgallant  oaths),  'when  you  finds  a  good  chance  shoved 
into  your  fist,  none  o'  your  doin',  ain't  a  feller  to  haul  in 
the  slack  of  it  'cause  he 's  got  a  tarry  paw  and  ships  be- 
fore the  mast  ?  I  tell  ye  what  it  is,  old  ship,  't  ain't  the 
first  time  you  an'  me  's  been  cast  away,  an'  I  does  n't  care 
the  drawnin'  of  a  rope-yarn,  in  them  'ere  latitudes,  if  1  'm 
cast  away  again.  Hark  ye,  ould  boy :  grog  to  the  mast- 
head, a  grab  at  the  passengers'  wallibles,  when  they  han't 
no  more  use  for  'em,  in  course;  and  the  pick  of  the  ladies, 
jist  for  the  takin'  o'  them  ashore!' 

"'lord  love  ye,  Harry,  belay  there!'  said  Jack;  'what's 
the  good  o'  talkin'  on  what  an't  like  to  be?'  'Less  like 
things  turn  up,'  said  Harry.  'More  by  token,  if  I  has  n't 
pitched  upon  my  fancy  lass  a'ready;  an'  who  knows,  old 
ship,  but  you  marries  a  nabob's  darter  yet,  and  gets  yourself 
shoved  all  square,  like  a  riglar  hare,  into  his  heestate, 
as  they  calls  it  ?  For  my  part,  I  've  more  notion  of  the 
maid!  An'  it  '11  go  hard  with  me  if  we  does  n't  manage 
to  haul  that  'ere  mishynar  parson  safe  ashore  on  the  strength 
of  it.'  'God  bless  ye,  Harry,'  answered  Jack,  somewhat 
mournfully,  'I'm  twice  spliced  already!'  'Third  time's 
lucky,  though,'  replied  Harry,  with  a  chuckle,  as  he  walked 
towards  the  side  again  and  looked  over;  the  rest  of  the 
watch  being  gathered  on  the  other  bow,  talking  and  laugh- 
ing; the  passengers  beginning  to  appear  on  the  poop,  and 
the  Scotch  second  mate  standing  up  aft  on  the  taffrail, 


A  SEA  STORY  133 

feeling  for  a  breath  of  wind.  The  big  topman  came  slowly 
back  to  his  companion,  and  leaned  himself  on  the  spars 
again.  'Elowcd  if  I  don't  think  you  're  right,  mate,'  said 
he,  'you  and  that  'ere  lawyer.  You'd  a'most  say  there's 
a  ripple  round  her  larboard  bow  just  now,  sure  enough — 
like  she  were  broadside  on  to  some  drift  or  another. 
Hows'ever  that 's  nouther  here  nor  there ;  for  my  part,  I 
sets  more  count  by  the  look  o'  the  sky  to  east'ard;  an'  be 
blowed,  shipmate,  if  that  same  yonder  don't  make  me  think 
of  woods/  'Well,'  said  Jack,  '/  goes  by  sunrise,  messmate, 
an'  I  did  n't  like  it  overmuch  myself,  d'  ye  see !  That  'ere 
talk  o'  yours,  Harry,  consarnin'  dazarts  and  what  not — why, 
bless  me,  it's  all  my  eye — this  bout,  at  any  rate — seem'  as 
how,  if  we  does  n't  have  a  stiff  snuffler  out  o'  that  very 
quarter  afore  twenty-four  hours  is  over,  you  call  me  lubber!' 

"  'Ho,ho !  old  salt,'  chuckled  Harry,  'none  o'  them  saws 
holds  good  hereaway ;  if  it 's  the  coast  of  Af ricay,  mate,  two 
watches  '11  settle  our  hash  in  them  longitudes,  without  going 
the  length  o'  six!  Han't  I  knocked  about  the  bloody  coast 
of  it  six  weeks  at  a  time,  myself,  let  alone  livin'  as  many 
months  in  the  woods? — so  I  knows  the  breedin'  of  a  turnady 
a  cussed  sight  too  well,  not  to  speak  on  the  way  the  land- 
blink  looms  afore  you  sights  it !' 

"'Lived  in  them  there  woods,  did  ye?'  inquired  Jack. 
'Ay,  bo',  an'  a  rum  rig  it  was,  too,  sure  enough,'  said 
Harry;  'the  very  same  time  I  told  you  on,  i'  the  Bight  o' 
Benin.  'My  eye,'  exclaimed  the  other,  'a  man  never  knows 
what  he  may  come  to.  Let's  into  the  rights  of  it,  Harry, 
can't  ye,  afore  eight  bells  strikes?' 

"'Woods!'  said  Harry,  'I  b'lieve  ye,  ould  ship.  I  see'd 
enough  o'  woods,  that  time,  arter  all — and  't  wan't  that  long 
agone,  either — I  '11  not  say  how  long,  but  it  wan't  last  v'yage. 
A  sharp,  clinker-built  craft  of  a  schooner  she  wor;  I'm  not 
goin'  to  give  ye  her  right  name,  but  they  called  her  the  "Lub- 
ber-hater"*— an'  if  there  wan't  all  sorts  on  us  aboard,  it's 
blaming  ye — an'  a  big  double-jinted  man-eatin'  chap  of  a 
Yankee  was  our  skipper,  as  sly  as  slush — more  by  token,  he 
had  a  wart  alongside  o'  one  eye  as  made  him  look  two 
ways  at  ye — Job  Price  by  name — an'  arter  he  'd  made  his 
fortin,  I  heard  he  's  took  up  a  teetotal  chapel  afloat  on  the 
Missishippey.  She'd  got  a  strapping  long  nose,  that  'ere 
schooner,  so,  _my  boy,  we  leaves  everything  astarn,  chase  or 
race,  I  promise  ye;  an'  as  for  a  blessed  ould  ten-gun  brig 
what  kept  a-cruising  thereaway,  why,  we  jest  got  used  to 

*  Query — Liberator? 


I34  THE  GREEN  HAND 

her,  like,  and  al'ays  lowers  our  mainsail  afore  takin'  the 
wind  of  her,  by  way  o'  good-by,  quite  perlite.  Blowed^if 
it  warn't  rum,  though,  for  to  see  the  brig's  white  figger'ed 
over  the  swell,  rollin'  under  a  cloud  o'  canvas,  stens'ls  crowded 
out  alow  an'  aloft,  as  she  jogged  arter  us.  Then  she'd 
haul  her  wind  an'  fire  a  gun,  an'  go  beating  away  up  in  chase 
of  some  other  craft,  as  caught  the  chance  for  runnin'  out 
whenever  they  sees  the  "Lubber-hater"  well  to  sea — why, 
s'help  me  Bob,  if  the  traders  on  the  coast  didn't  pay 
Job  Price  half  a  dozen  blacks  apiece  every  trip,  jist  for  to 
play  that  'ere  dodge.  At  last,  one  time,  not  long  after  1 
joined  the  craft,  what  does  he  do  but  nigh-hand  loses 
her  an'  her  cargo,  all  owin'  to  reckonin'  overmuch  on 
this  here  traverse.  Out  we  comes  one  night  in  the  tail 
of  a  squall,  an',  as  soon  as  it  clears,  there  sure  enough 
we  made  out  the  brig,  hard  after  us,  as  we  thinks — so 
never  a  rag  more  Job  claps  on,  'cause  two  of  his  friends, 
ye  see,  was  jist  outside  the  bar  in  the  ISoon  river.  Well, 
very  soon  the  cruiser  begins  to  overhaul  us,  as  one  gaff- 
taups'l  wouldn't  do,  nor  yet  another,  till  the  fly  ing- jib 
and  bonnets  made  her  walk  away  from  them  in  right  'arnest 
— when  slap  comes  a  long  shot  that  took  the  fore-topmast 
out  of  us  in  a  twinkling.  So  when  the  moonlight  corned 
out,  lo  an'  behold,  instead  of  the  brig's  two  masts  stiff  and 
straight  against  the  haze,  there  was  three  spanking  sticks 
all  ataunto,  my  boy,  in  a  fine  new  sloop-o'-war  as  had  fresh 
come  on  the  station — the  "Iris,"  they  called  her — and  a 
fast  ship  she  wor.  But  all  said  and  done,  the  schooner 
had  the  heels  of  her  in  aught  short  of  a  reef-taups'l  breeze — 
though,  as  for  the  other  two,  the  sloop-o'-war  picked  off 
both  on  'em  in  the  end.' 

"At  this  point  of  the  fellow's  account,  I,  Ned  Collins, 
began  to  prick  up  my  ears,  pretty  sure  it  was  the  dear  old 
'Iris'  he  was  talking  of;  and,  thought  I,  'Oho,  my  mate, 
we  shall  have  you  directly — listening's  all  fair  with  a  chap 
of  this  breed.' 

"'Well,'  said  he,  '  'twas  the  next  trip  after  that,  we 
finds  the  coast  clear,  as  commonly  was — for,  d'  ye  see,  they 
could  n't  touch  us  if  so  be  we  had  n't  a  slave  aboard — in  fact, 
we  heerd  as  how  the  cruiser  was  up  by  Serry  Lony,  and 
left  some  young  lufftenant  or  other  on  the  watch  with  a 
sort  o'  lateen-rigged  tender.  A  precious  raw  chap  he  was, 
by  all  accounts — and,  sure  enough,  there  he  kept  plying  off 
and  on,  inshore,  'stead  of  out  of  sight  to  seaward  till  the 
craft  would  make  a  bolt;  an'  as  soon  as  ye  dropped  an 


A  SEA  STORY  135 

anchor,  he  'd  send  a  boat  aboard  with  a  reefer,  to  ax  if 
ye  'd  got  slaves  in  the  hold.  In  course,  ye  know,  Job 
Price  sends  back  a  message,  "palm-ile  an'  iv'ry,  an'  gould  if 
we  can" — h'ists  the  Portingee  colors,  brings  up  his  Portingee 
papers,  and  makes  the  Portingee  stoo'rd  skipper  for  the 
spell — but  anyhow,  bein'  no  less  nor  three  slavers  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Bonny  river  at  the  time,  why,  he  meant  to 
show  fight  if  need  be,  and  jest  manhandle  the  young  navy 
sprig  to  his  heart's  content.  Hows'ever,  the  second  or  third 
night,  all  on  a  suddent  we  found  he  'd  sheered  off  for  a 
decency's  sake,  as  it  might  be,  an  hour  or  two  afore  we  'd 
began  to  raft  off  the  niggers.  Well,  mate,  right  in  the  midst 
of  it  there  comes  sich  a- fury  of  a  turnady  off  the  land,  as 
we  'd  to  slip  cable  and  run  fair  out  to  sea  after  the  other 
craft  what  had  got  sooner  full — one  on  'em  went  ashore  in 
sight,  an'  we  not  ninety  blacks  aboard  yet,  with  barely  a  day's 
water  stowed  in. 

"  'The  next  morning,  out  o'  sight  of  land,  we  got  the 
sea-breeze,  and  stood  in  again  under  everything,  till  we 
made  Fernandy  Po  ileyand  three  leagues  off,  or  thereby,  an' 
the  two  ebony-brigs  beating  out  in  company,  so  the  skipper 
stands  over  across  their  course  for  to  give  them  a  hail,  heaves 
to  and  pulls  aboard  the  nearest,  where  he  stays  a  good 
long  spell  and  drinks  a  stiff  glass,  as  ye  may  fancy,  afore 
parti n'.  Back  comes  Job  Price  in  high  glee,  and  tould  the 
mate  as  how  that  mornin'  the  brigs  had  fell  foul  o'  the 
man-o'-war  tender,  bottom  up,  an'  a  big  Newfoundling  dog 
a-howlin'  on  the  keel — no  doubt  she  'd  turned  the  turtle  in 
that  'ere  squall — more  by  token,  he  brought  the  dog  alongst 
with  him  in  a  present.  So  away  we  filled  again  to  go  in 
for  the  Bonny  river,  when  the  breeze  fell,  and  shortly  arter 
there  we  was  all  three  dead  becalmed,  a  couple  o'  miles  be- 
twixt us,  sticking  on  the  water  like  flies  on  glass,  an' 
as  hot,  ye  know,  as  blazes — the  very  moral  o'  this  here.  By 
sundown  we  had  n't  a  drop  of  water,  so  the  skipper  sent 
to  the  nearest  brig  for  some ;  but  strike  me  lucky  if  they  'd 
part  with  a  bucketful  for  love,  bein'  out'ard  bound.  As  the 
Spanish  skipper  said,  'twas  either  hard  dollars  or  a  stout 
nigger,  and  t'  other  brig  said  the  same.  A  slight  puff  o' 
land-wind  we  had  in  the  night,  though  next  day  'twas 
as  calm  as  ever,  and  the  brigs  farther  off — so  by  noon,  my 
boy,  for  two  blessed  casks,  if  Job  Price  hadn't  to  send 
six  blacks  in  the  boat.  Shorter  yarn,  Jack,  but  the  calm 
held  that  nierht,  too,  and  blowed  if  the  brigs  would  sell 
another  breaker — what  we  had  we  couldn't  spare  to  the 


I36  THE  GREEN  HAND 

poor  devils  under  hatches,  and  the  next  day,  why  they  died 
off  like  rotten  sheep,  till  we  hove  the  last  on  'em  o'board; 
and  frighterful  enough  it  was,  mind  ye,  for  to  see  about 
fifty  sharks  at  work  all  round  the  schooner  at  once,  as  long 
as  it  lasted. 

"  'Well,  in  the  arternoon  we  'd  just  commenced  squabbling 
aboard  amongst  ourselves,  round  the  dreg  water,  or  whether 
to  board  one  o'  the  brigs  and  have  a  fair  fight,  when  oif 
come  a  bit  of  a  breeze,  betwixt  the  two  high  peaks  on 
Fernandy  Po,  both  the  brigs  set  stensails,  and  begins  slipping 
quietly  off — our  skipper  gived  orders  to  brace  after  them, 
and  clear  away  the  long  gun  amidships;  but  all  on  a 
suddent  we  made  out  a  lump  of  a  brig  dropping  down  before 
it  round  the  ileyand,  which  we  knowed  her  well  enough  for 
a  Bristol  craft  as  had  lost  half  her  hands  up  the  Callebar, 
in  the  gould  an'  iv'ry  trade.  Down  she  coomed,  wonderfle 
fast  for  the  light  breeze,  if  there  had  n't  been  one  o'  yer 
currents  besides  off  the  ileyand,  till  about  half  a  mile  away 
she  braces  up,  seemingly  to  sheer  across  it  and  steer  clear 
of  us.  Out  went  our  boat,  an'  the  skipper  bids  every  man 
of  her  crew  to  shove  a  short  cutlash  inside  his  trousers. 
Says  he,  "I  guess  we  '11  first  speak  'em  fair,  but  if  we 
don't  ha'  water  enough,  it  '11  be  'tarnal  queer,  that 's  all," 
says  he — an'  Job  was  a  man  never  swore,  but  he  looked  mighty 
bad,  that  time,  I  must  say;  so  we  outs  oars  and  pulls  right 
aboard  the  trader,  without  answerin'  ever  a  hail,  when  up  the 
side  we  bundled  on  deck,  one  arter  the  other,  mad  for  a 
drink,  and  sees  the  master  with  five  or  six  of  a  crew,  all  as 
white  as  ghostesses,  and  two  or  three  Kroomen,  besides  a 
long-legged  young  feller  a-sittin'  and  kicking  his  feet  over 
the  kimpanion  hatch,  with  a  tumblerful  o'  grog  in  his  fist, 
as  fresh  to  all  seemin'  as  a  fish,  like  a  supper-cargo  or 
some'at  o'  the  sort,  as  them  craft  commonly  has. 

" '  "What  schooner 's  that  ?"  axes  the  master,  all  abroad 
like;  an'  says  Job — says  he,  out  o'  breath,  "Never  you  mind; 
I  guess  you'll  let's  have  some  water,  for  we  wants  it 
mighty  keen!"  "Well,"  says  the  other,  shaking  his  head, 
"I  'm  af eared  we  're  short  ourselves — anyhow,"  says  he,  "we  '11 
give  ye  a  dipper  the  piece" — and  accordingly  they  fists  us 
along  a  dozen  gulps,  hand  over  hand.  "  'T  won't  do,  1  guess, 
mister,"  says  our  skipper ;  "we  wants  a  cask !"  Here  the  mas- 
ter o'  the  brig  shakes  his  head  again,  and  guv  a  look  to 
the  young  longshore-like  chap  aft,  which  sings  out  as  we 
could  n't  have  no  more  for  love  nor  money — an'  I  see  Cap'en 
Price  commence  for  to  look  savitch  again,  and  feel  for  the 


A  SEA  STORY  137 

handle  on  his  cutlash.  "Rather  you'd  ax  iv'ry  or  gould 
dust!"  sings  out  the  supper-cargo;  "hows'ever,"  says  he,  "as 
ye  've  tooken  sich  a  fancy  to  it,  short  o'  water  as  we  is, 
why  a  fair  exchange  ain't  no  robbery,"  says  he:  "you  wants 
water,  an'  we  wants  hands ;  have  n't  ye  a  couple  o'  niggers 
for  to  spare  us,  sir,  by  way  of  a  barter  now?"  he  says. 
Well,  mate,  I  '11  be  blowed  if  I  ever  see  a  man  turn  so  wicked 
fur'ous  as  Job  Price  turns  at  this  here,  an'  says  he,  through 
his  teeth,  "If  ye  'd  said  a  nigger's  nail-parin',  I  could  n't  done 
it,  so  it's  no  use  talkin'."  "Oh  come,  capting,"  says  the 
young  fellow,  wonderfle  angshis-like,  "say  one,  jist — it 's  all 
on  the  quiet,  ye  know.  Bless  me,  captin,"  says  he,  "I  'd 
do  a  deal  for  a  man  in  a  strait,  'tickerly  for  yerself — 
an'  I  think  we  'd  manage  with  a  single  hand  more.  1  '11  give 
ye  two  casks  and  a  bag  o'  gould  dust  for  one  black,  and 
we  '11  send  aboard  for  him  just  now,  ourselves !"  "No !"  roars 
Job  Price,  walkin'  close  up  to  him ;  "ye  've  riz  me,  ye  cussed 
Britisher,  ye,  an'  I  tell  ye  we'll  take  what  we  wants!"  "No 
jokes  though,  captin!"  says  the  feller;  "what 's  one  to  a  whole 
raftful  I  heerd  of  ye  shipping?"  "Go  an'  ax  the  sharks,  ye 
beggar!"  says  the  skipper;  "here,  my  lads!"  says  he,  an' 
makes  a  grab  at  the  other's  throat,  when  slap  comes  a 
jug  o'  rum  in  his  eye-lights,  and  the  young  chap  ups  fist  in 
quick-sticks,  and  drops  him  like  a  cock,  big  as  he  was.  By 
that  time,  though,  in  a  twinklin'  the  master  was  flat  on 
deck,  and  the  brig's  crew  showed  no  fight — when,  lo  an' 
behold,  my  boy,  up  bundles  a  score  o'  strapping  man-o'- 
war's-men  out  of  the  cabing.  One  or  two  on  us  got  a  cut 
about  the  head,  an'  my  gentleman  supper-cargo  claps  a 
pistol  to  my  ear  from  aft,  so  we  knocked  under  without 
more  to-do.  In  five  minutes'  time  every  man  jack  of  us 
had  a  seizing  about  his  wrists  and  lower  pins;  and  says 
Job  Price,  in  a  giving-up  sort  o'  v'ice,  "You  're  too  cust 
spry  for  playin'  jokes  on,  I  calc'late,  squire,"  he  says. 
"Jokes !"  says  the  young  feller,  "why,  it 's  no  joke — in  course 
you  knows  me?"  "Niver  seed  ye  atween  the  eyes  afore,"  says 
Job,  "but  don't  bear  no  malice,  mister,  now."  "That 's  it," 
says  the  t'other,  lookin'  at  the  schooner  again,  "no  more  I 
does,  so  jist  think  a  bit;  han't  you  really  a  nigger  or  so 
aboard  o'  ye — if  it  was  jist  one?"  "Squash  the  one!"  says 
Job,  shakin'  his  head  nellicholly  like — an'  "Sorry  for  it,"  says 
the  chap,  "  'cause  ye  see  I  'm  the  lufftenant  belonging  to 
the  'Irish,'  an'  I  carn^t  titch  yer  schooner  if  so  be  ye 
han't  a  slave  aboard."  "Lawk  a'mighty! — no!"  sings  out 
Job  Price,  'cause  bein'  half  blinded  he  couldn't  ha'  noted 


i38  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  lot  o'  man-o'-war's-men  sooner.  "But  I  can"  says  the 
other,  "for  piratecy,  ye  see;  an'  what's  more,''  he  says, 
"there 's  no  help  for  it  now,  I  'm  af eared,  mister  what-they- 

pall-ye." 

"'Well,  mate,  after  that  ye  may  fancy  our  skipper  turns 
terrible  down  in  the  mouth;  so  without  a  word  more  they 
parbuckles  us  all  down  below  into  the  cabin — an'  what  does 
this  here  lufftenant  do  but  he  strips  the  whole  lot,  rigs  out 
as  many  of  his  men  in  our  duds,  hoists  out  a  big  cask  o' 
water  on  the  brig's  far  side,  and  pulls  round  for  the  schooner 
— hisself  togged  out  like  the  skipper,  and  his  odd  hands  laid 
down  in  the  boat's  bottom.'  You  won't  wonder  at  my  teing 
highly  amused  with  the  fellow's  yarn,  since  the  fact  was 
that  it  happened  to  be  one  of  my  own  adventures  in  the 
days  of  the  'Iris,'  two  or  three  years  before,  when  we  saw 
a  good  many  scenes  together,  far  more  wild  and  stirring, 
of  course,  in  the  thick  of  the  slave  trade;  but  really  the 
ugly  rascal  described  it  wonderfully  well. 

"'Well,'  said  Harry,  'I  gets  my  chin  shoved  up  in  the 
starn-windy,  where  I  seed  the  whole  thing,  and  tould  the 
skipper  accordently.  The  schooner's  crew  looked  out  for 
the  water  like  so  many  oysters  in  a  tub ;  the  lufftenant  jumps 
up  the  sides  with  his  men  after  him,  an'  not  so  much 
as  the  cross  of  two  cutlashes  did  we  hear  afore  the  onion- 
jack  flew  out  a-peak  over  her  mains'l.  In  five  minutes  more, 
the  schooner  fills  away  before  the  breeze  and  begins  to  slide 
off -in  fine  style  after  the  pair  o'  brigs,  as  was  nigh  half 
hull-down  to  seaward  by  this  time.  There  we  was,  left 
neck  and  heel  below  in  the  trader,  and  he  hauled  up  seem- 
in'ly  for  the  land;  an',  arter  a  bit,  says  the  skipper  to  me, 
"Foster,  my  lad,  I  despise  this  way  o'  things,"  says  he,  "ain't 
there  no  way  on  gettin'  clear  ?"  "Never  say  die,  cap'en !"  I 
says ;  an'  says  he,  "I  calc'late  they  left  considerable  few  hands 
aboard?"  "None  but  them  sleepy-like  scum  o'  iv'ry  men,"  I 
says,  but  be  blowed  if  I  seed  what  better  we  was,  till  down 
comes  a  little  nigger  cabin-boy  for  some'at  or  other,  with  a 
knife  in  his  hand.  Job  fixes  his  eye  on  him — I  've  heerd  he  'd 
a  way  in  his  eye  with  niggers  as  they  couldn't  stand — an' 
says  he,  soft-sawderin'  like,  "Come  here,  will  ye,  my  lad, 
an'  give  us  a  drink,"  so  the  black  come  for'ard  with  a 
pannikin,  one  foot  at  a  time,  an'  he  houlds  it  out  to  the 
skipper's  lips — for,  d'ye  see,  all  on  us  had  our  flippers 
lashed  behind  our  backs,  <rNow,"  says  he,  "thankee,  boy — 
look  in  atwixt  my  legs,  and  ye '11  find  a  dollar."  With 
that,  jest  as  the  boy  stoops,  Job  Price  ketches  his  neck 


A  SEA  STORY  139 

fast  betwixt  his  two  knees,  an'  blowed  if  he  didn't  jam 
them  harder,  grinning  all  the  time,  till  down  drops  the  little 
black  throttled  on  the  deck.  "That 's  for  thanking  a  niggur!" 
says  he,  lookin'  as  savitch  as  a  fiend,  and  got  the  knife  in 
his  teeth,  when  he  turned  to  and  sawed  through  the  seiz- 
ing round  my  wrists — an'  in  course  I  sets  every  man  clear  in 
quick-sticks.  "Now!"  says  Job,  looking  round,  "the  quicker 
the  better — that  cussed  lubber-ratin'  hound's  got  my  schooner, 
but  maybe,  my  lads,  this  here  iv'ry  man  '11  pay  expenses :  if 
I  'm  made  out  a  pirate,  I  '11  arn  the  name !" 

"  'Well,  we  squints  up  the  hatchway,  and  seed  a  young 
midshipman  a-standing  with  his  back  to  us,  watching  the 
brig's  crew  at  the  braces,  an'  a  pistol  in  one  hand — when 
all  at  once  our  skipper  slips  off  his  shoes,  runs  up  the 
stair  as  quiet  as  a  cat,  an'  caught  the  end  of  a  capstan- 
bar  as  lay  on  the  scuttle.  With  that  down  he  comes  crash 
on  the  poor  fellow's  skull  from  aft,  and  brained  him  in 
a  moment.  Every  man  of  us  got  bloody-minded  with  the 
sight,  so  we  scarce  knowed  what  we  did,  ye  know,  mate, 
afore  all  hands  o'  them  was  gone — how,  I  ain't  goin'  for 
to  say,  nor  the  share  as  one  had  in  it  more  nor  another.  The 
long  an'  the  short  on  it  was,  we  run  the  brig  by  sun- 
down in  amongst  the  creeks  up  the  Camaroons  river,  thinkin' 
to  lie  stowed  away  close  thereabouts  till  all  wor  cold.  How- 
s'ever,  they  kicked  up  the  devil's  delight  about  a  piratecy, 
and  the  sloop-o'-war  comes  back  shortly,  when  night  an' 
day  there  was  that  young  shark  of  a  lufftenant  huntin' 
arter  us,  as  sharp  as  a  marline  spike — we  durs  n't  come 
down  the  river  nohow,  till  what  with  a  bad  conscience,  fogs, 
and  sleepin'  every  night  within  stink  o'  them  blasted  muddy 
mangroves  an'  bulrushes  together,  why,  mate,  the  whole  ten 
hands  died  off,  one  arter  the  other  in  the  fever — leaving 
ownly  me  an'  the  skipper.  Job  Price  was  like  .a  madman 
over  the  cargo,  worth  good  knows  how  many  thousand 
dollars,  as  he  could  n't  take  out — but  for  my  part,  I  gets 
the  brig's  punt  one  night  and  sculls  myself  ashore,  'and  off 
like  a  hare  into  the  bush  by  moonlight.  No  use,  ye  know, 
for  to  say  what  rum  chances  I  meets  with  in  the  woods,  livin' 
up  trees  and  the  like  for  fear  o'  illiphants,  sarpents,  an'  high- 
annies — but,  blow  me,  if  I  did  n't  think  the  farther  ye 
went  aloft,  the  more  monkeys  an'  parrykeets  you  roused  out, 
jabberin'  all  night  so  as  a  feller  could  n't  close  an  eye — 
an'  as  for  the  sky,  be  blowed  if  I  ever  once  sighted  it. 
So,  d'  ye  see,  it  puts  all  notions  o'  fruits  an'  flowers  out 
o'  my  head,  an'  all  them  jimmy -jessamy  sort  o'  happy-go- 


I4o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

lucky  yarns  about  barbers'  ileyands  and  shipher-dresses  what 
they  used  for  to  spell  out  o'  dicshinars  at  school — ail  gam- 
mon, mate!' 

"  'Lor'  love  ye,  no,  surely,'  said  Jack ;  'it 's  in  the  Bible ! 

"'Ay,  ay,'  said  Harry,  'that's  arter  ye 've  gone  to  Davy 
Jones,  no  doubt;  but  I've  been  in  the  Southsy  ileyands 
since,  myself,  an'  be  blowed  if  it's  much  better  there! 
Hows'ever,  still  anon,  I  took  a  new  fancy,  an'  away  I  makes 
for  the  river,  in  sarch  of  a  nigger  villache,  as  they  calls 
'em ;  and  sure  enough,  it  war  n't  long  ere  right  I  plumps  in 
the  midst  on  a  lot  o'  cane  huts  amongst  trees.  But  sich  a 
shine  and  a  nitty  as  I  kicks  up,  ye  see,  bein'  half  naked, 
for  all  the  world  like  a  wild  man  o'  the  woods,  an'  for  a 
full  hour  I  has  the  town  to  myself,  so  I  hoists  my  shirt  on  a 
stick  over  the  hut  I  took,  by  way  of  a  flag  o'  truce,  an'  at 
last  they  all  begins  for  to  swarm  in  again.  Well,  ye  see,  1 
knowed  the  ways  o'  the  natifs  thereabouts  pretty  well,  an' 
what  does  I  do  but  I'd  laid  myself  flat  afore  an  ugly  divvle 
of  a  wooden  himmache,  as  stood  on  the  flour,  an'  I  wriggles 
and  twists  myself,  and  groans  like  a  chap  in  a  fit — what  they 
calls  fittish,  thereaway — an'  in  course,  with  that  they  logs  me 
down  at  once  for  a  rig'lar  holy  'possel  from  Jerusalem. 
The  long  an'  the  short  on  it  was,  the  fittish-man  takes  me  un- 
der charge,  and  sets  me  to  tell  fortins  or  the  like  with 
an  ould  quadrant  they  got  somewheres — gives  me  a  hut  an' 
two  black  wives,  begad !  and  there  I  lives  for  two  or  three 
weeks  on  end,  no  doubt,  as  proud  as  Tommy — when,  one 
fine  morning,  what  does  I  see  off  shore  in  the  river  but 
that  confounded  man-o'-war  tender,  all  ship-shape  an'  ataunto 
again.  So,  my  boy,  I  gives  'em  to  understand  as  how, 
bein'  over  vallible  at  home  with  the  king  of  England,  in 
course  he  'd  sent  for  to  puckalow  me  away — an'  no  sooner 
said,  but  Jhe  whole  town  gets  in  a  fluster — the  fittish-man, 
which  a  knowin'  chap  he  was,  takes  an'  rubs  me  from  heel 
to  truck,  with  ile  out  on  a  sartin  nut,  as  turned  me  coal- 
black  in  half  an  hour,  an'  as  soon  as  I  looks  in  the  creek, 
mate,  be  blowed  if  I  'd  a  knewn  myself  from  a  nigger,  some- 
how!' 

"To  tell  the  truth,  as  /  thought  to  myself,  it  was  no 
wonder,  as  Master  Harry's  nose  and  lips  were  by  no  means  in 
the  classic  style,  and  his  skin,  as  it  was,  did  n't  appear  of 
the  whitest. 

"  'So  there,  ye  know,  I  sits  before  a  hut,  grindin'  away  at 
maize,  with  nothink  else  but  a  waist-cloth  round  me,  and 
my  two  legs  stuck  out,  till  such  a  time  as  the  lufftenant  an' 


A  SEA  STORY  141 

two  boats'  crews  had  sarched  the  villache,  havin'  heerd,  no 
doubt,  of  a  white  man  thereabouts — an'  at  last  off  they 
went.  Well,  in  course,  at  first  this  here  affair  gives  the 
fittish-man  a  lift  in  the  niggers'  eyes,  by  reason  o'  havin' 
turned  a  white  man  black— 'cause,  ye  see,  them  fittish-men 
has  a  rig'lar-bred  knowledge  on  plants  and  sichlike.  But 
hows'ever,  in  a  day  or  two  I  begins  for  to  get  rayther 
oneasy,  seein'  it  did  n't  wash  off,  an'  accordently  I  made 
beknown  as  much  to  the  fittish-man,  when,  my  boy,  if  he 
does  n't  shake  his  mop-head,  and  rubs  noses,  as  much  as  to 
say,  "We  ain't  agoin'  to  part."  'Twas  no  use,  and  thinks  I, 
"Ye  man-eating  scum,  be  blowed  if  I  don't  put  your  neck 
out,  then !"  So  I  turns  to  with  my  knife  on  a  log  o'  wood, 
carves  a  himmage  twice  as  big  an'  ugly  as  his'n,  and 
builds  a  hut  over  it,  where  I  plays  all  the  conjerin'  tricks  I 
could  mind  on — till,  be  hanged  if  the  niggers  did  n't  begin  to 
leave  the  fittish-man  pretty  fast,  and  make  a  blessed  sight 
more  o'  me.  I  takes  a  couple  more  wives,  gets  drunk  every 
day  on  palm-wine  and  toddy  juice — as  for  the  hogs  an'  the 
yams  they  brought  me,  why  I  could  n't  stow  'em  away ;  an' 
in  place  o'  wanting  myself  white  again,  I  rubs  myself  over 
and  over  with  that  'ere  nut,  let  alone  palm-ile,  till  the 
ould  fittish-man  looks  brown  alongside  o'  me.  At  last  the 
king  o'  the  niggers  thereaway — King  Chimbey  they  called 
him,  or  some'at  o'  that  sort — he  sends  for  to  see  me,  an' 
away  to  his  town  they  takes  me,  a  mile  or  two  up  the  coun- 
try, where  I  seed  him ;  but  I  'm  blowed,  Jack,  if  he  'd  got 
a  crown  on  at  all,  ownly  a  ould  red  marine's  coat,  an'  a  pair  o' 
top-boots,  what  was  laid  away  when  he  war  n't  in  state. 
Hows'ever,  he  gives  me  two  white  beans  an'  a  red  un  in 
sign  o'  high  favor,  and  gives  me  to  know  as  I  wor  to  stay 
there.  But  one  thing  I  could  n't  make  out,  why  the  black 
king's  hut  an'  the  josst-house,  as  they  calls  it,  was  all  stuck 
round  with  bones  an'  dead  men's  skulls ! — 't  wan't  long, 
though,  'ere  I  finds  it  out,  mate!  That  'ere  fittish-man, 
d'  ye  see,  wor  a  right-down  imp  to  look  at,  and  wicked 
enough  he  eyed  me;  but  still  anon  I  sends  over  for  my 
wives,  turns  out  a  black  feller  out  on  his  hut,  an'  slings  a 
hammock  in  it,  when  the  next  day  or  so  I  meets  the  first 
fittish-man  in  the  woods,  an'  the  poor  divvle  looks  wonderfle 
friendly-like,  makin'  me  all  kinds  o'  woeful  signs,  and 
seemin'ly  as  much  as  to  say  for  to  keep  a  bright  lookout 
on  the  other  one.  All  on  a  suddent  what  does  he  do,  but 
he  runs  a  V^'t  ?is  -far  »°  n  tree,  picks  tm  a  sort  of  a  red  mush- 
room, an'  he  rubs  with  it  across  the  back  o'  my  hand,  gives 


H2  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  wink,  and  scuttles  off.  What  it  meaned  I  couldn't  make 
out,  till  I  gets  back  to  the  town,  when  I  chanced  to  look  at 
my  flipper,  and  there  I  see  a  clean  white  streak  alongst  it! 
Well,  I  thinks,  liberty's  sweet,  an'  I'm  blessed  if  a  man's 
able  to  cruise  much  to  windward  o'  right-down  slavery,  thinks 
I,  if  he  's  black !  Howsomever,  thinks  I,  I  '11  jest  hold  on  a 
bit  longer. 

"  'Well,  next  day,  the  black  king  had  the  blue-devils  with 
drinking  rum,  an'  he  couldn't  sleep  nohow,  'cause,  as  I 
made  out,  he  'd  killed  his  uncle,  they  said — I  does  n't  know 
but  he'd  eaten  him,  too — anyhow,  I  seed  him  eat  as  much 
of  a  fat  hog,  raw,  as  ud  sarve  out  half  the  watch — so  the 
fittish-man  tells  him  there  's  nought  for  it  but  to  please  the 
fittish.  What  that  wor,  blowed  if  I  knew;  but  no  sooner 
sundown  nor  they  hauls  me  out  o'  my  hut,  claps  me  in  a 
stinking  hole  as  dark  as  pitch,  and  leaves  me  till  mornin',  as 
I  thought.  Jist  about  the  end  o'  the  mid-watch,  there  kicks 
up  a  rumpus  like  close-reef  taups'ls  in  a  hurricane — smash 
goes  the  sticks  over  me;  I  seed  the  stars,  and  a  whole  lot 
o'  strange  blacks  with  long  spears,  a  fightin',  yellin',  tramp- 
lin',  an'  twistin'  in  the  midst  of  the  huts — and  off  I'm 
hoisted  in  the  gang,  on  some  feller's  back  or  other,  at  five 
knots  the  hour,  through  the  woods — till  down  we  all  comes 
in  a  drove,  plash  amongst  the  very  swamps  close  by  the 
river,  where,  lo  an'  behold !  I  makes  out  a  schooner  afloat 
at  her  anchor.  The  next  thing  I  feels  a  red-hot  iron  come 
hiss  across  my  shoulders,  so  I  jumped  up  and  sang  out 
like  blazes,  in  course.  But,  my  flippers  bein'  all  fast,  't  was 
no  use;  I  got  one  shove  as  sent  me  head-foremost  into 
a  long  canoe,  with  thirty  or  forty  niggers  stowed  away 
like  cattle,  and  out  the  men  pulls  for  the  schooner.  A 
big  bright  fire  there  was  ashore,  astarn  of  us,  I  mind,  where- 
they  heated  the  irons,  with  a  chap  in  a  straw  hat  sarvin'  out 
rum  to  the  wild  blacks  from  a  cask;  and  ye  saw  the  pitch- 
black  woods  behind,  with  the  branches  shoved  out  red  in 
the  light  on  it,  _  and  a  bloody-like  patch  on  the  water  under 
a  clump  o'  sooty  mangroves.  An',  Jack,  if  I  did  n't  feel  the 
life  sick  in  me,  that  time— for,  d'  ye  see,  I  hears  nothiri' 
spoke  round  me  but  cussed  French,  Portingeese,  an'  nigger 
tongue — 'specially  when  it  jist  lighthens  on  me  what  sort 
on  a  case  I  were  in;  an'  thinks  I,  "I'm  took  for  a  slave, 
arter  all! — an'  be  hanged,  but  I  left  that  'ere  'farnal  mush- 
room a-lying  under  that  there  tree  yonder!"  I  begins  for  to 
think  o'  matters  an'  things,  an'  about  Bristol  quay,  an'  my 
old  mother,  a*n'  my  sister  as  was  at  school — mind  ye, 


A  SEA  STORY  143 

mate,  all  atwixt  shovin'  off  the  mangroves  an'  coming  bump 
again'  the  schooner's  side — an'  blow  me  if  I  does  n't  tarn  to, 
an'  nigh-hand  commences  for  to  blubber — when  jist  then  what 
does  I  catch  sight  on,  by  the  lantern  over  the  side,  but  that 
'ere  villain  of  a  fittish-man,  an'  what 's  more,  King  Chim- 
bey  hisself,  both  hauled  in  the  net.  And  with  that  I  gives 
a  chuckle,  as  ye  may  suppose,  an'  no  mistake;  for  thinks 
I,  so  far  as  consarns  myself,  this  here  can't  last  long, 
blow  me,  for  sooner  or  later  I  '11  find  some  un  to  speak 
to,  even  an  I  niver  gets  rid  o'  this  here  outer  darkness — 
be  blowed  if  I  han't  got  a  white  mind,  any  ways,  an'  free 
I  '11  be,  my  boy.  But  I  laughs,  in  course,  when  I  seed  the 
fittish-man  grin  at  me — for  thinks  I,  "My  cocks,  you're 
logged  down  for  a  pretty  long  spell  of  it !" 

"Well,  bo',  somehow  I  knows  no  more  about  it  till  such 
time  as  I  sort  o'  wakes  up  in  pitch-dark,  all  ch'oke  and 
sweat,  an'  a  feller's  dirty  big  toe  in  my  mouth,  with  mine 
in  some  un  else's  eye;  so  out  I  spits  it,  an'  makes  a  scramble 
for  my  life.  By  the  roll  and  the  splash  I  knowed  I  wor  down 
in  the  schooner's  hold;  an'  be  hanged  if  there  warn't  twenty 
or  thirty  holding  on  like  bees  to  a  open  weather-port,  where 
the  fresh  wind  and  the  spray  come  a-blowing  through — but 
there,  my  boy,  't  were  no  go  for  to  get  so  much  as  the 
tip  o'  yer  nose.  Accordingly,  up  I  prizes  myself  with  my 
feet  on  another  poor  devil's  wool — for,  d  'ye  see,  by  that 
time  I  minds  a  man's  face  no  more  nor  so  much  timber — 
an'  I  feels  for  the  hatch  over  me,  where  by  good  luck,  as  I 
thought,  there  I  finds  it  not  battened  down  yet,  so  I  shoved 
my  head  through  on  deck  like  a  blacksmith's  hammer. 

"  'Well,  mate,  there  was  the  schooner's  deck  wet,  a  swell 
of  a  sea  on  round  her,  well  off  the  land,  no  trifle  of  a 
morning  gale,  and  the  craft  heeling  to  it;  a  lot  o'  hands  up 
on  her  yards,  a  reefing  at  the  boom  mains'l  and  fo'taups'l, 
an'  if  my  heart  does  n't  jump  into  my  mouth  with  the  sight, 
for  I  feels  it  for  all  the  world  like  a  good  glass  o'  grog, 
settin'  all  to  rights.  Two  or  three  there  was  walkin'  aft  the 
quarter-deck,  so  out  I  sings,  "Hullo !  hullo  there,  shipmates, 
gives  us  a  hand  out  o'  this !"  Two  on  'em  comes  for'ud,  one 
lifts  a  handspike,  but  both  gives  a  grin,  as  much  as  to 
say  it 's  some  nigger  tongue  or  other  in  place  o'  good  English 
— for,  d'ye  see,  they  'd  half  their  faces  black-beard,  and  rings 
i'  their  ears — when  up  walks  another  chap  like  the  skipper, 
an'  more  the  looks  of  a  countryman.  "I  'm  a  free-born 
Briton!"  roars  I  again:  with  that  he  lends  me  a  squint, 
looks  to  the  men,  and  gives  some  sort  of  a  sign,  when  they 


144  THE  GREEN  HAND 

jams-to  the  hatch  and  nips  me  fast  by  the  neck.  "Devil  of 
a  deep  beggar,  this  'ere!"  says  he;  "jist  give  him  the  gag, 
my  lads,"  says  he;  "the  planters  often  thinks  more  of  a 
dumby,  'cause  he  works  the  more,  and  a  stout  piece  o'  goods 
this  is!"  says  he.  Well,  mate,  what  does  they  do  but  one 
pulls  out  a  "knife,  an'  be  blowed  if  they  war  n't  a-goin'  for 
to  cut  out  my  tongue;  but  the  men  aloft  sung  out  to 
hoist  away  the  yards;  so  they  left  me  ready  clinched  till 
they'd  belay  the  ropes.  Next  a  hand  for'ud,  by  good  luck, 
hailed  "Sail  ho!"  and  they'd  some'at  else  to  think  o'  be- 
sides me;  for  there,  my  boy,  little  more  nor  three  miles 
to  wind'ard,  I  seed  the  "Irish"  as  she  come  driving  bodily 
out  o'  the  mist,  shakin'  out  her  three  to'gallant-sails,  an' 
a  white  spray  flying  with  her  off  one  surge  to  another. 
Rather  bad  it  was,  mind  ye,  for  my  windpipe,  for  every  time 
the  schooner  pitched,  away  swings  my  feet  clear  o'  the 
niggers'  heads — 'cause,  d'  ye  see,  we  chanced  for  to  be 
stowed  on  the  'tween-decks,  an'  another  tier  there  was,  stuffed 
in  her  lower  hold — an'  there  I  stuck,  mate,  so  as  I  could  n't 
help  watchin'  the  whole  chase,  till  at  last  the  hatch  slacks  nip 
a  bit,  and  down  I  plumps  into  the  dark  again. 

"  Well,  bo',  the  breeze  got  lighter,  an'  to  all  seemin'  the 
cursed  schooner  held  her  own ;  but  hows'ever,  the  sloop-o'-war 
kept  it  up  all  day,  and  once  or  twice  she  tips  us  a  long  shot ; 
till  by  sunset,  as  I  reckoned,  we  hears  no  more  on  her.  The 
whole  night  long,  again,  there  we  stews  as  thick  as  peas — 1 
keeps  harknin'  to  the  sighs  an'  groans,  an'  the  wash  along  the 
side,  in  a  sort  of  a  doze ;  an'  s'  help  me  Bob,  I  fancies  for  a 
moment  I  'm  swinging  in  my  hammock  in  the  fok'sle,  an'  it 's 
no  more  but  the  bulkheads  and  timbers  creakin'.  Then  I 
thinks  it 's  some  un  else  I  dreams  on,  as  is  oneasy,  like  to 
choke  for  heat  and  thirst ;  and  I  'm  a-chucklin'  at  him — when 
up  I  wakes  with  the  cockroaches  swarming  over  my  face.  An- 
other groan  runs  from  that  end  to  this,  the  whole  lot  on  us 
tries  hard,  and  kicks  their  neighbors  to  turn,  an'  be  blowed  if 
I  knowed  but  I  was  buried  in  a  churchyard,  with  the  horrid 
worms  all  a-crawl  about  me.  All  on  a  sudden,  nigh-hand  to 
daybreak  it  was,  I  hears  a  gun  to  wind'ard,  so  with  that  1 
contrives  for  to  scramble  up  with  my  eye  to  the  scuttle-port. 
'T  was  a  stiffish  breeze,  an'  I  seed  some'at  lift  on  a  sea  like  a 
albatross's  wing,  as  one  may  say — though  what  wor  this  but 
the  "Irish's"  bit  of  a  tender,  standing  right  across  our  bows — 
for  the  schooner,  ye  see,  changed  her  course  i'  the  night-time, 
rig'lar  slaver's  dodge,  thinkin'  for  to  drop  the  sloop-o'-war, 
sure  enough.  But  as  for  the  little  f 'lucca,  why  .they  had  n't 


A  SEA  STORY  145 

bargained  for  her  at  all,  lying-to  as  she  did,  with  a  rag  o'  sail 
up,  in  the  troughs  of  the  sea,  till  the  schooner  was  close 
on  her. 

"  'Well,  no  sooner  does  they  go  about,  my  boy,  but  the 
muskeety  of  a  cruiser  lets  drive  at  her  off  the  top  of  a  sea,  as 
we  hung  broadside  to  them  in  stays.  Blessed  if  I  ever  see 
sich  a  mark! — the  shot  jist  takes  our  foretop  fair  slap — for 
the  next  minute  I  seed  the  fore-topmast  come  over  the  lee- 
side,  an'  astarn  we  begins  to  go  directly.  What 's  more,  mate, 
I  never  see  a  small  craft  yet  handled  better  in  a  sea,  as  that 
'ere  chap  did — nor  the  same  thing  done,  cleaner  at  any  rate — 
for  they  jist  comes  nigh-hand  tip  on  our  bowsprit-end,  as  the 
schooner  lifted — then  up  in  the  wind  they  went  like  clock- 
work, with  a  starnway  on  as  carried  the  f'lucca  right  along- 
side on  us,  like  a  coachman  backing  up  a  lane,  and  grind  we 
both  heaved  on  the  swell,  with  the  topmast  hamper  an'  its 
canvas  for  a  fender  atwixt  us.  Aboard  jumps  the  man-o'- 
war's-men,  in  course,  cutlash  in  hand,  an'  for  five  minutes 
some  tough  work  there  was  on  deck,  by  the  tramp,  the  shots, 
an'  the  curses  over  our  heads — when  off  they  shoved  the 
hatches,  and  I  seed  a  tall  young  feller  in  a  gold-banded  cap 
look  below.  Be  blowed  if  I  was  n't  goin'  to  sing  out  again, 
for,  d  'ye  see,  I  'm  blessed  if  I  took  mind  on  the  chap  at  all,  as 
much  by  reason  o'  the  blood  an'  the  smoke  he  'd  got  on  his  face 
as  aught  else.  Hows'ever,  I  holds  a  bit  meantime,  on  account 
o'  Job  Price  an'  that  'ere  piratecy  consarn — till  what  does  I 
think,  a  hour  or  two  arter,  when  I  finds  as  this  here  were  the 
very  lufftenant  as  chased  us  weeks  on  end  in  the  Camaroons. 
So  a  close  stopper,  sure  enough,  I  keeps  on  my  jaw;  an'  as  for 
scentin'  me  out  amongst  a  couple  o'  hundred  blacks  in  the 
hold,  why,  't  were  fit  to  paul  my  own  mother  herself. 

"  'Well,  Jack,  by  this  time  bein'  near  Serry  Loney,  next 
day  or  so  we  got  in- — where,  what  does  they  do  but  they 
lubber-rates  us  all,  as  they  calls  it,  into  a  barracoon  ashore, 
till  sich  time  as  the  slaver  ud  be  condemned — an'  off  goes  the 
tender  down  coast  again.  Arter  that,  they  treats  us  well 
enough,  but  still  I  dursn't  say  a  word ;  for  one  day,  as  we  goed 
to  work  makin'  our  huts,  there  I  twigs  a  printed  bill  upon  the 
church-wall,  holdin'  out  a  reward,  d  'ye  see,  consarnin'  the 
piratecy,  with  my  own  name  and  my  very  build  logged  down 
— ownly,  be  hanged  if  they  does  n't  tack  on  to  it  all,  by  way  of 
a  topgallant  ink- jury  to  a  man,  these  here  words — "He 's  a 
very  ugly  feller — looks  like  a  furriner."  Well,  mate,  I  ain't 
a  young  maiden,  sure  enough,  but,  thinks  I,  afore  I  fell  foul  o' 
that  blasted  fittish-man  an'  his  nut,  cuss  rr.e  if  I  looks  jist  so 


146  THE  GREEN   HAND 

bad  as  that  'ere !  So  ye  know  this  goes  more  to  my  heart  nor 
aught  else,  till  there  1  spells  out  another  confounded  lie  in  the 
bill,  as  how  Cap'en  Price's  men  had  mutinied  again'  him,  and 
murdered  the  brig's  crew — when,  in  course,  I  sees  the  villain's 
whole  traverse  at  once.  So  sayin',  I  watched  my  chance  one 
night  an'  went  aboard  a  Yankee  brig  as  were  to  sail  next  day ; 
an'  I  tells  the  skipper  part  o'  the  story,  offerin'  for  to  work  my 
passage  across  for  nothing ;  which,  says  he,  "It 's  a  hinter- 
estin'  narritif e" — them  was  his  words ;  and,  says  he,  "It 's  a 
land  o'  freedom  is  the  States,  an'  no  mistake — ain't  there  no 
more  on  ye  in  the  like  case  ?"  he  says.  "Not  as  I  knows  on, 
sir,"  I  answers ;  an'  says  he,  "Plenty  o'  colored  gen'lmen  there 
is  yonder,  all  in  silks  an'  satins ;  an'  I  hear,"  says  he,  "there 's 
one  on  'em  has  a  chance  o'  bein'  President  next  time — anyhow 
I  'm  your  friend,"  says  he,  quite  hearty. 

"  'Well,  the  long  an'  short  of  it  was,  I  stays  aboard  the 
brig,  works  my  spell  in  her,  an'  takes  my  trick  at  the  helium 
— but  I  'm  blowed,  Jack,  if  the  men  'ud  let  me  sleep  in  the 
fok'sle,  'cause  I  was  a  black,  so  I  slung  my  hammock  aft  with 
the  nigger  stoord.  D'  ye  see,  1  misgived  myself  a  bit  when  we 
sank  the  coast,  for,  thinks  I,  it 's  in  Africa  as  that  'ere  blessed 
mushroom  are  to  be  found,  to  take  the  color  oil  me — hows'- 
ever,  I  thinks  it  carn't  but  wear  out  in  time,  now  I  've  got  out 
o'  that  'ere  confounded  mess,  where,  sure  enough,  things  was 
against  me.  So  at  last  the  v'yage  were  up,  an'  the  brig  got  in 
to  New  Orleans.  There  I  walks  aft  to  the  skipper  for  to  take 
leave?  when  says  he,  wonderfly  friendly  like,  "Now,  my  lad," 
says  he,  "I  'm  goin'  up  river  a  bit  for  to  sea  a  friend  as 
takes  a  interest  in  your  kind — an'  if  ye  likes,  why  I  '11  pay  yer 
passage  that  far?"  In  course  I  agrees,  and  up  river  we  goes, 
till  we  lands  at  a  fine  house,  where  I  'm  left  in  a  far-handy,  ye 
know,  while  the  skipper  an'  his  friend  has  their  dinner.  All 
at  once  the  gen'l'man  shoves  his  head  out  of  a  doure,  takes  a 
look  at  me,  an'  in  again — arter  that  I  hears  the  chink  o'  dollars 
— then  the  skipper  walks  out,  shuts  the  doure,  and  says  he  to 
me,  "Now,"  he  says,  "that 's  a  cute  sort  o'  tale  ye  tould  me,  my 
lad,  but  it 's  a  lie,  I  guess !"  "Lie,  sir !"  says  I,  "what  d  'ye 
mean  ?"  for  ye  see  that  'ere  matter  o'  the  iv'ry  brig  made  me 
sing  small  at  first.  "No  slack,  Pumpey,"  says  he,  liftin'  his 
fore-finger  like  a  schoolmaster;  "ain't  yer  name  Pumpey?" 


guess    I'd    tell    ye    what    tripe    you    belongs    to — you're    a 
Mandigy  niggur,"  says  he.    "It 's  all  very  well,"  he  says,  "that 


A  SEA  STORY  147 

'ere  yarn,  but  that 's  wot  they  'd  all  say  when  they  comes, 
they  've  been  dyed  black !  Why,"  says  he,  "does  n't  I  see  that 
'ere  brand  one  night  on  yer  back — there  's  yer  arms  all  over 
pagan  tattooin'—  "  "Bless  ye,  cap'en,"  I  says,  a-holdin'  up 
my  arm,  "it 's  crowns  an'  anchors !"  "Crowns !"  says  he, 
turiiin'  up  his  nose,  "what  does  we  know  o'  crowns  hereaway — 
we  ain't  barbers  yet,  1  guess" — of  what  he  meant  by  barbers 
here,  mate,  I  'm  hanged  if  I  knowed.  "  'Sides,"  says  he,  "you 
speaks  broken  Aimerricane !"  "  'Merricain  ?"  I  says,  "why, 
I  speaks  good  English!  an'  good  reason,  bein'  a  freeborn 
Briton — as  white  's  yerself,  if  so  be  I  could  ownly  clap  hands 
for  a  minnet  on  some  o'  them  mushrooms  I  tould  ye  on!" 
"Where  does  they  grow,  then?"  axes  he,  screwin'  one  eye  up. 
"In  Africay  yonder,  sir,"  I  says,  "more  's  the  pity  I  had  n't 
the  chance  to  lay  hands  on  them  again !"  "Phoo !"  says  he, 
"glad  they  ain't  here  !  An'  does  you  think  we  're  a-goin'  for  to 
send  all  the  way  over  to  Africay  for  them  mushrooms  you 
talks  on?  Tell  ye  what,  yer  free  papers  'ud  do  ye  a  sight 
more  good  here!"  says  he;  "it's  no  use  with  a  black  skin,  for 
to  claim  white  laws ;  an'  what 's  more,  ye  're  too  tarnation 
ugly-faced  for  it,  let  alone  color,  Pumpey,  my  man,"  he  says. 
"I  tell  ye  what  it  is,  Cap'en  Edwards,"  says  I,  "my  frontis- 
piece ain't  neither  here  nor  there,  but  if  you  calls  me  Pumpey 
again,  blowed  an'  I  don't  pitch  inty  ye!" — so  with  that  I 
handles  my  bones  in  a  way  as  makes  him  hop  inside  the 
doure — an'  says  the  skipper,  houldin'  it  half  shut,  "Harkee, 
lad,"  he  says,  "it 's  no  go  your  tryin'  for  to  run,  or  they  '11 
make  ye  think  angels  o'  bo'sun's-mates.  But  what 's  more," 
says  he,  "niver  you  whisper  a  word  o'  what  ye  tells  me,  about 
nuts  an'  mushrooms,  or  sich  like  trash — no  more  will  1;  for, 
d  'ye  see,  my  lad,  in  that  case  they  'd  jest  hush  ye  up  for 
good !"  "Who  d  'ye  mean  ?"  I  says,  all  abroad,  an'  of  a  shiver 
like — mindin'  on  the  slave-schooner  again.  "Why,  the  plan- 
ter's people,"  says  he,  "as  I  've  sold  ye  to."  An'  with  that  he 
pints  into  his  mouth,  and  shuts  the  door. 

"  'Well,  mate,  ye  may  fancy  how  I  feels !  Here  I  stands, 
givin'  a  look  round  for  a  fair  offing;  but  there  was  bulwarks 
two  fadoms  high  all  round  the  house,  a  big  bloodhound  lyin7 
chained,  with  his  muzzle  on  his  two  paws,  an'  nobody  seem'd 
for  to  mind  me.  So,  I  seed  it  were  all  up  wonst  more;  an'  at 
the  thou't  of  a  knife  in  my  tongue,  I  sits  right  down  in  the 
far-handy,  rig'lar  flabbergasted,  when  out -that  'ere  blasted 
skipper  shoots  his  head  again,  an'  says  he,  "Pumpey,  my  lad, 
good-day,"  says  he;  "you  knows  some'at  o'  the  water,  an'  as 
they've  boat-work  at  times  hereaway,  I  don't  know  but,  if 


i48  THE  GREEN  HAND 

you  behaves  yerself ,  they  '11  trust  you  with  an  oar  now  an' 
then:  for  I  touid  yer  master  jist  now,"  says  he,  "as  how  you 
carn't  speak  no  English!"  Well,  I  gives  him  a  hoath,  'cause 
by  that  time  I  had  n't  a  word  to  throw  at  a  dog ;  and  shortly 
arter,  up  comes  the  overseer  with  his  black  mate,  walks  me  off 
to  a  shed,  strips  me,  and  gives  me  a  pair  o'  cotton  drawers 
and  a  broad  hat — so  out  I  goes  the  next  mornin'  for  to  hoe 
sugar-cane  with  a  gang  o'  niggers. 

"  'Well,  mate,  arter  that  I  kept  close  enough — says  no 
more,  but  mumbles  a  lot  o'  no-man's  jargon,  as  makes  'em  all 
log  me  down  for  a  sort  o'  double-Guinea  savitch — 'cause  why, 
I  were  hanged  afeared  for  my  tongue,  seein',  if  so  be  I  lost  it, 
I  'd  be  a  nigger  for  ever,  sure  enough.  So  the  blacks,  for  most 
part  being  country-bred,  they  talks  nothin'  but  a  blessed 
jumble,  for  all  the  world  like  babbies  at  home ;  an'  what  does 
they  do  but  they  fancies  me  a  rig'lar  African  nigger,  as  proud 
as  Tommy,  an'  a'most  ready  for  to  washup  me  they  wor — why, 
the  poor  divvies  'ud  bring  me  yams  and  fish;  they  kisses  my 
flippers  an'  toes  as  I  'd  been  the  Pope ;  an'  as  for  the  young 
girls,  I  'm  blowed  if  I  warn't  all  the  go  amongst  'em — though 
I  carn't  say  the  same  where  both  's  white,  ye  know !  What 
with  the  sun  an'  the  cocoanut  ile,  to  my  thinkin,'  I  gets 
blacker  an'  blacker — blessed  if  I  did  n't  fancy  a  feller  's  very 
mind  turned  nigger.  I  larns  their  confounded  lingo,  an'  I 
answers  to  the  name  o'  Pumpey,  blast  it,  till  I  right-down 
forgets  that  I'd  ever  another.  As  for  runnin',  look  ye,  1 
knowed  't  was  no  use  thereaway,  as  long  as  my  skin  tould 
against  me,  an'  as  long  as  Africay  wor  where  it  wor.  So,  my 
boy,  I  seed  pretty  clear,  ye  know,  as  this  here  world  'ud  turn 
a  man  into  a  rig'lar  built  slave-nigger  in  the  long  run  if  he 
was  a  angel  out  o'  heaven ! 

''  'Well,  mate,  one  day  I  'm  in  the  woods  amongst  a  gang, 
chopping  firewood  for  the  sugar-mill,  when,  what  does  I  light 
on  betwixt  some  big  ground-leaves  and  sich  like,  but  a  lot  o' 
them  very  same  red  mushrooms  as  the  fittish-man  shows  me 
in  Africay! — blowed  if  there  warn't  a  whole  sight  o'  them 
round  about,  too !  So  I  pulls  enough  for  ten,  ye  may  be  sure, 
stuffs  'em  in  my  hat,  an'  that  same  night,  as  soon  as  all's 
dark,  off  I  goes  into  the  woods,  right  by  the  stars,  for  the 
nearest  town  'twixt  there  an'  New  Orleans.  As  soon  as  I  got 
nigh-hand  it,  there  I  sits  down  below  a  tree  amongst  the 
bushes,  hauls  off  my  slops,  an'  I  turns  to  for  to  rub  myself  all 
over,  from  heel  to  truck,  till  daybreak.  So,  in  course,  I 
watches  for  the  light  angshis  enough,  as  ye  may  suppose,  to 
know  what  color  I  were.  Well,  strike  me  lucky,  Jack,  if  I 


A  SEA  STORY  149 

did  n't  jump  near  a  f adorn  i'  the  air,  when  at  last  I  sees  I  'm 
white  wonst  morel — blessed  if  1  did  n't  feel  myself  a  new  man 
from  stem  to  starii!  1  makes  right  for  a  creek  near  by,  looks 
at  my  face  in  the  water,  then  up  I  comes  again,  an'  every  yarn 
o'  them  cussed  slave-togs  I  pulls  to  bits,  when  1  shoves  'em 
under  the  leaves.  Arter  that  I  took  fair  to  the  water  for 
about  a  mile,  jist  to  smooth  out  my  wake,  like;  then  I  shins 
aloft  up  a  tree,  where  I  stowed  myself  away  till  noon — 'cause, 
d  'ye  see,  I  knowed  pretty  well  what  to  look  for  next.  An'  by 
this  time,  mind  ye,  all  them  -queer  haps  made  a  fellow  won- 
derfle  sharp,  so  I'd  scheme  out  the  whole  chart  aforehand 
how  to  weather  on  them  cussed  Yankees. 

"  'Accordently,  about  noon,  what  does  I  hear  but  that  'ere 
savitch  bloodhound  comin'  along  up  creek,  with  a  set  o'  slave- 
catchers  astarn,  for  to  smell  out  my  track.  With  that,  down  I 
went  in  the  water  again,  rounds  a  point  into  the  big  river, 
where  I  gets  abreast  of  a  landin'-place,  near  the  town,  with 
craft  laying  out-stream,  boats  plyiii',  an'  all  alive.  D'  ye  see, 
bo',  I  'd  got  no  clothes  at  all,  an'  how  for  to  rig  myself  again, 
'blowed  if  I  knows — seein'  as  how  by  this  time  I  'd  turned  as 
white  as  the  day  I  were  born,  an'  a  naked  white  man  in  a  town 
arn't  no  better  nor  a  black  nigger.  So  in  1  swims  like  a  por- 
pus  afore  a  breeze,  an'  up  an'  down  I  ducks  in  the  shallow,  for 
all  the  world  like  a  chap  a-takin'  a  bath;  an'  out  1  hollers  to 
all  an'  sundry,  with  a  Yankee  twang  i'  my  nose,  for  to  know  if 
they  had  seen  my  clothes,  till  a  whole  lot  on  'em  crowds  on  the 
quay.  Hows'ever,  I  bethinks  me  on  that  'ere  blasted  brand 
atwixt  my  shoulders,  an'  I  makes  myself  out  as  modest  as  a 
lady,  kicks  out  my  legs,  and  splashes  like  a  whale  aground, 
an'  sticks  out  my  starn  to  'em  for  to  let  'em  see  it 's  white. 
"Hullo!"  I  sings  out,  "han't  ye  seen  my  clothes?"  "No, 
stranger,"  says  they,  "some  un 's  runned  off  with  'em,  we 
calc'lates !"  With  that  I  tells  'em  I  'm  a  Boston  skipper  new 
corned  up  from  New  Orleans ;  an'  not  bein'  used  to  the  heat, 
why,  I'd  took  a  bath  the  first  thing;  an'  I  'scribes  the  whole 
o'  my  togs  as  if  I'd  made  'em — "split  new,"  says  I,  "an'  a 
beaver  hat,  more  by  token  there's  my  name  inside  it:  an'," 
says  I,  "there 's  notes  for  a  hundred  dollars  in  my  trousers !" 

'  'By  this  time  down  comes  the  slave-catchers,  an'  says 
they,  hearin'  on  it,  'That  'ere  tarnation  nigger 's  gone  off  with 
'em,  we  '11  know  un  by  them  marks  well  enough,"  says  they, 
an'  off  they  goes  across  river.  "Hullo!"  I  sings  out  to  the 
folks,  "I  'm  a-s-ettin'  cold  here,  so  I  guess  I  '11  come  ashore 
again,  slick  off!"  I  twangs  out.  "Guess  ye  can't,  straunger!" 
they  hails;  "not  till  we  gets  ye  some  kiverin's! — we're  con- 


150  THE  GREEN  HAND 

siderable  proper  here,  we  are!"  "Ain't  this  a  free  country, 
then  ?"  I  says,  givin'  a  divvle  of  a  splash ;  an'  with  that  they 
begs  an'  axes  me  for  to  hould  on,  an'  they  'd  fix  me,  as  they 
calls  it,  in  no  time.  Well,  mate,  what  does  they  do  but  one 
an'  another  brings  me  something  as  like  what  I  'scribed  as 
could  be,  hands  'em  along  on  a  pole,  an'  I  puts  'em  on  then  an' 
there.  Arter  that,  the  ladies  o'  the  place  bein'  blessed  modest, 
1  an'  all  of  a  fright  leest  I  'd  a  corned  out  an'  gone  through  the 
town — why,  out  o'  grannytude,  as  they  says,  they  gets  up  a 
supperscription  on  a  hundred  dollars  to  make  up  my  loss — • 
has  a  public  meetin'  logged  down  for  the  evenin',  when  I  'm 
for  to  indress  the  citizens,  as  they  says,  all  about  freedom  an' 
top-gallantry,  an'  sichlike.  Hows'ever,  I  jist  sticks  my  tongue 
in  my  cheek,  eats  a  blessed  good  dinner  in  a  hot-ell,  whatches 
my  chance,  an'  off  by  a  track-boat  at  sundown  to  New 
Orleens,  where  I  shipped  aboard  a  English  barque,  an'  gets 
safe  out  to  sea  wonst  more.' 

"  'Lord  love  ye,  Harry !'  exclaimed  Jack  hereupon,  'the 
likes  o'  that,  now !  But  I  Ve  heerd  say,  them  fittish-men  you 
talks  on  has  wonderful  knowledge — why,  mayhap  it 's  them  as 
keeps  all  the  niggers  black,  now?'  'Well,  bo','  said  Harry, 
'I  don't  doubt  but  if  them  'Merricaine  slaves  jist  knowed  o' 
that  'ere  red  mushroom,  why  they  'd  show  the  Yankees  more 
stripes  nor  stars !  D'  ye  see,  if  a  Yankee  knowed  as  his  own 
father  were  a-hoein'  his  sugar-canes,  blowed  if  he  would  n't 
make  him  work  up  his  liberty  in  dollars!  All  the  stripes, 
d'  ye  see,  mate,  is  for  the  blacks,  an'  all  the  stars  is  for  the 
whites,  in  them  Yankee  colors  as  they  brags  so  much  about! 
But  what  I  says  is,  it 's  curst  hard  to  get  through  this  here 
world,  shipmate,  if  ye  doesn't  keep  well  to  the  wind'ard  of 
it!' 

"I  was  the  more  amused  with  this  account  of  the  ugly 
rascal's  adventures  that  I  remembered  two  or  three  of  the 
occasions  he  mentioned,  and  he  told  them  pretty  exactly 
so  far  as  I  had  to  do  with  them.  As  for  the  fetich-man's 
curious  nut,  and  that  extraordinary  mushroom  of  his,  why 
'ten  to  one,'  thought  I,  'but  all  the  while  the  fellow  never  once 
touched  a  piece  of  soap!'  which,  no  doubt,  had  as  much  to  do 
with  it  as  anything  besides.  Somehow  or  other,  notwith- 
standing, I  had  taken  almost  a  fancy  to  the  villain — such  a 
rough  sample  of  mankind  he  was,  with  his  uncouth  grumpy 
voice,  and  his  huge  black  beard;  and  he  gave  the  story  in  a 
cool,  scornful  sort  of  way  that  was  laughable  in  itself.  'So, 
my  Lid,'  I  thought,  'it  seems  you  and  I  have  met  twice  before ; 
but  if  you  play  any  of  your  tricks  this  time,  Master  Harry,  I 


A  SEA  STORY  151 

hope  you  've  found  your  match' ;  and  certainly,  if  I  had  fan- 
cied my  gentleman  was  in  the  slaver's  hold  that  time  off  the 
African  coast,  I  'd  have  'lubber-rated'  him  with  a  vengeance. 
"'I  say,  mates/  said  he  again,  with  a  sulky  kind  of 
importance,  to  those  of  the  watch  who  had  gathered  round 
during  the  last  half  of  his  yarn,  'there 's  three  things  I  hates 
— an'  good  reason!'  'What  he's  they,  Harry?'  asked  the 
rest.  'One 's  a  Yankee,'  said  he,  'an'  be  blowed  to  him ;  the 
second  's  a  slaver ;  and  the  third  is — I  carn't  abide  a  nigger, 

nohow.    But  d'  ye  see,  there  's  one  thing  as  I  likes '    Here 

eight  bells  struck  out,  and  up  tumbled  the  watch  below,  with 
Jacobs'  hearty  face  amongst  them:  so  I  made  my  way  aft, 
and  of  course,  missed  hearing  what  that  said  delightful  thing 
might  be,  which  this  tarry  Esop  approved  of  so  much. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

"WHILE  I  was  listening,  I  had  scarcely  noticed,  that  within 
the  last  few  minutes  a  light  air  had  begun  to  play  aloft  among 
the  higher  canvas,  a  faint  cat's-paw  came  ruffling  here  and 
there  a  patch  of  the  water,  till  by  this  time  the  Indiaman  was 
answering  her  wheel  again,  and  moving  slowly  ahead,  as  the 
breeze  came  down  and  crept  out  to  the  leeches  of  her  sails, 
with  a  sluggish  lifting  of  her  heavy  fore-course.  The  men 
were  all  below  at  breakfast,  forward,  and,  of  course,  at  that 
hour  the  poop  above  me  was  quite  a  Babel  of  idler's  voices; 
while  I  looked  into  the  compass  and  watched  the  ship's  head 
falling  gradually  off  from  north-east-by-north,  near  which  it 
had  stuck  pretty  close  since  daybreak.  The  sun  was  brought 
before  her  opposite  beam,  and  such  a  perfect  gush  of  hazy 
white  light  shot  from  the  quarter  over  the  larboard  bul- 
warks, that  thereaway,  in  fact,  there  might  have  been  a  fleet 
of  ships,  or  a  knot  of  islands,  and  we  none  the  wiser,  as  you 
could  n't  look  into  it  at  all. 

"The  chief  mate  came  handing  a  wonderfully  timid  young 
lady  down  the  poop-ladder  with  great  care,  and  as  soon  as 
they  were  safe  on  the  quarter-deck,  she  asked  with  a  confiding 
sort  of  lisp,  'And  where  are  we  going  now  then,  Mr.  Finch?' 
'Well,  miss,'  simpered  he,  'wherever  you  please,  1  '11  be  glad 
to  conduct  you!'  'Oh,  but  the  ship  I  mean,'  replied  she, 
giggling  prettily.  'Why,'  said  Finch,  stooping  down  to  the 
binnacle,  'she  heads  due  south-east  at  present,  miss.'  'I  am  so 


I52  THE  GREEN  HAND 

glad  you  are  going  on  again !'  said  the  young  lady ;  'but  oh ! 
when  shall  we  see  dear  land  once  more,  Mr.  Finch  f  'Not  for 
more  than  a  week,  I  fear,'  answered  the  mate,  'when  we  arrive 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But  there,  miss,your  poetic  feel- 
ings will  be  gratified,  I  assure  you.  The  hills  there,  I  might 
say,  Miss  Brodie,'  he  went  on,  'not  to  speak  of  the  woods,  are 
quite  dramatic!  You  mustn't  suppose  the  rough  mariner, 
rude  as  he  seems,  Miss  Brodie,  is  entirely  devoid  of  romance 
in  his  sentiments,  I  hope!'  and  he  looked  down  for  the 
twentieth  time  that  morning  at  his  boots,  as  he  handed  her 
down  the  cabm  hatchway,  longing  to  see  the  Cape,  no  doubt. 
'Much  romance,  as  you  call  it,  there  is  in  ugly  Harry  yonder !' 
thought  I;  and  comparing  this  sort  of  stuff,  aft,  with  the 
matter-of-fact  notions  before  the  mast,  made  me  the  more 
anxious  for  what  might  turn  up  in  a  few  hours,  with  this 
gallant  first  officer  left  in  full  charge,  and  the  captain,  as  I 
understood,  unable  to  leave  his  cot.  A  good  enough  seaman 
the  fellow  was,  so  far  as  your  regular  deep-sea  work  went, 
which  those  India  voyagers  had  chiefly  to  do  with  then;  but 
for  aught  out  of  the  way,  or  a  sudden  pinch,  why,  the  peace 
had  just  newly  set  them  free  of  their  leading  strings,  and  here 
this  young  mate  brought  his  new-fangled  school  navigation, 
forsooth,  to  run  the  'Seringapatam'  into  some  mess  or  other; 
whereas,  in  a  case  of  the  kind,  I  had  no  doubt  he  would  prove 
as  helpless  as  a  child. 

"By  this  time,  for  my  part,  all  my  wishes  for  some 
ticklish  adventure  were  almost  gone,  when  I  thought  of 
our  feelings  at  the  loss  of  the  boat,  as  well  as  the  number 
of  innocent  young  creatures  on  board,  with  Lota  Hyde  her- 
self amongst  them;  while  here  had  I  got  myself  fairTy  set 
down  for  a  raw  griffin.  Yet  neither  Westwood  nor  I,  unless 
it  came  to  the  very  worst,  could  venture  to  make  himself 
openly  useful!  I  was  puzzled  both  what  to  think  of  our 
exact  case,  and  what  to  do;  whereas  a  pretty  short  time  in 
these  latitudes,  as  the  foremast-man  had  said,  might  finish 
our  business  altogether;  indeed,  the  whole  look  of  things, 
somehow  or  other,  at  that  moment,  had  a  strange  unsettled 
touch  about  it,  out  of  which  one  unaccustomed  to  those  parts 
might  be  sure  some  change  would  come.  The  air,  a  little 
ago,  was  quite  suffocating,  the  heat  got  greater;  and  the 
breeze,  though  it  seemed  to  strengthen  aloft,  at  times  sank 
quietly  out  of  her  lower  canvas  like  a  breath  drawn  in,  and 
caught  it  again  as  quietly  ere  it  fell  to  the  masts.  What 
with  the  slow  huge  heave  of  the  water,  as  it  washed  glittering 
past,  and  what  with  the  blue  tropical  sky  overhead,  getting 


A  SEA  STORY  153 

paler  and  paler  at  the  horizon  astern,  from  fair  heat — while 
the  sunlight  and  the  white  haze  on  our  larboard  beam,  made 
it  a  complete  puzzle  to  behold — why,  I  felt  just  like  some 
fellow  in  one  of  those  stupid  dreams  after  a  heavy  supper, 
with  nothing  at  all  in  them,  when  you  don't  know  how  long 
or  how  often  you  've  dreamed  it  before.  Deuce  the  hand  or 
foot  you  can  stir,  and  yet  you  've  a  notion  of  something  hor- 
rid that 's  sure  to  come  upon  you. 

"We  could  n't  be  much  more  than  a  hundred  miles  or  so  to 
south'ard  of  St.  Helena ;  but  we  might  be  two  thousand  miles 
off  the  land,  or  we  might  be  fifty.  I  had  only  "been  once  in  my 
life  near  the  coast  thereaway,  and  certainly  my  recollections 
of  it  were  n't  the  most  pleasant.  As  for  the  charts,  so  little 
was  known  of  it  that  we  could  n't  depend  upon  them ;  yet 
there  was  no  doubt  the  ship  had  been  all  night  long  in  a 
strong  set  of  water  toward  north-east,  right  across  her  course. 
For  my  own  part,  I  was  as  anxious  as  anyone  else  to  reach  the 
Cape,  and  get  rid  of  all  this  cursed  nonsense;  for  since  last 
night,  1  saw  quite  well  by  her  look  that  Violet  Hyde  would 
never  favor  me,  if  I  kept  in  her  wake  to  the  day  of  judgment. 
There  v:as  I,  too,  every  time  I  came  on  deck  and  saw  those 
round-house  doors,  my  heart  leaped  into  my  throat,  and  I 
did  n't  know  port  from  starboard !  But  what  was  the  odds, 
that  I  'd  have  kissed  the  very  pitch  she  walked  upon,  when 
she  was  n't  for  me  ! — being  deep  in  love  don't  sharpen  the 
faculties,  neither,  and  the  more  I  thought  of  matters  the 
stupider  I  seemed  to  get.  'Green  Hand!'  thought  1,  'as 
Jacobs  and  the  larboard  watch  call  me,  it  appears — why, 
they  're  right  enough !  A  green  hand  I  came  afloat  nine 
years  ago,  and,  by  Jove!  though  I  know  the  sea  and  what 
belongs  to  it,  from  sheer  liking  to  them,  as  't  were — it  seems 
a  green  hand  I  'm  to  stick — seeing  I  know  so  blessed  little  of 
womankind,  not  to  speak  of  that  whole  confounded  world 
ashore!  With  all  one's  schemes  and  one's  weather-eye, 
something  new  always  keeps  turning  up  to  show  one  what  an 
ass  he  is ;  and,  hang  me,  if  I  don't  begin  to  suppose  1  'm  only 
fit  for  working  small  traverses  upon  slavers  and  jack-nasty- 
faces,  after  all!  There's  Westwood,  without  troubling  him- 
self, seems  to  weather  upon  me,  with  her,  like  a  Baltimore 
clipper  on  a  Dutch  schuyt !'  In  short,  I  wanted  to  leave  the 
'Seringapatam'  as  soon  as  I  could,  wish  them  all  a  good  voy- 
age together  away  for  Bombay,  sit  down  under  Table  Moun- 
tain, and  then  perhaps  go  and  travel  amongst  the  Hottentots 
by  way  of  a  change. 

"The  chief  officer  came  aft  towards  the  binnacle  again,  with 


154  THE  GREEN   HAND 

a  strut  in  his  gait,  and  more  full  of  importance  than  ever,  of 
course.  'This  breeze  '11  hold,  I  think,  Macleod?'  said  he  to 
the  second  mate,  who  was  shuffling  about  in  a  lounging, 
unseamanlike  way  he  had,  as  if  he  felt  uncomfortable  011  the 
quarter-deck,  and  both  hands  in  his-  jacket  pockets.  'Well,' 
said  the  Scotchman,  'do  ye  not  think  it 's  too  early  begun, 
sir  ?'  and  he  looked  about  like  an  old  owl,  winking  against  the 
glare  of  light  past  the  mainsheet  to  larboard ;  'I  '11  not  say 
but  it  will,  though,'  continued  he, 'but  'odsake,  sir,  it 's  terrible 
warm !'  'Can't  be  long  ere  we  get  into  Cape  Town  now,'  said 
the  mate,  'so  you  '11  turn  the  men  on  deck  as  soon  as  break- 
fast 's  over,  Mr.  Macleod,  and  commence  giving  her  a  coat  of 
paint  outside,  sir.'  'Exactly,  Mr.  Finch,'  said  the  other,  'all 
hands  it  '11  be,  sir  ?  For  any  sake,  Mr.  Finch,  give  they  lazy 
scoundrels  something  to  do!'  'Yes,  all  hands,'  said  Finch; 
and  he  was  going  below,  when  the  second  mate  sidled  up  to 
him  again,  as  if  he  had  something  particular  to  say.  'The 
captain  '11  be  quite  better  by  this  time,  no  doubt,  Mr.  Finch  ?' 
asked  he.  'Well — d'ye  mean?'  inquired  the  mate,  rather 
shortly;  'why  no,  sir,  when  the  surgeon  saw  him  in  the 
morning  watch,  he  said  it  was  a  fever,  and  the  sooner  we  saw 
the  Cape  the  better  for  him.'  'No  doubt,  no  doubt,  sir,'  said 
the  second  mate,  thoughtfully,  putting  his  forefinger  up  his 
twisted  nose,  which  I  noticed  he  did  in  such  cases,  as  if 
the  twist  had  to  do  with  his  memory — 'no  doubt,  sir,  that 's 
just  it !  The  doctor 's  a  sharp  Edinbro'  lad — -did  he  see 
aucht  by  common  about  the  captain,  sir?'  'No,'  said 
Finch,  'except  that  he  wanted  to  go  on  deck  this  morning,  and 
the  surgeon  took  away  his  clothes  and  left  the  door  locked.7 
'Did  he,  though?'  asked  Macleod,  shaking  his  head,  and 
looking  a  little  anxious ;  'didna  he  ask  for  aucht  in  particular, 
sir?'  'Not  that  I  heard  of, 'Mr.  Macleod,'  replied  the  mate; 
'what  do  you  mean  ?'  'Did  he  not  ask  for  a  green  leaf  ?'  replied 
the  second  mate.  'Pooh,'  said  Finch,  'what  if  he  did?' 
'Well,  sir,'  said  Macleod,  'neither  you  nor  the  doctor  's  sailed 
five  voy'ges  with  the  captain,  like  me.  He 's  a  quiet  man, 
Captain  Weelumson,  an'  well  he  knows  his  calling;  but  some- 
times warm  weather  does  n't  do  with  him,  more  especial 
siccan  warm  weather  as  this,  when  the  moon  's  full,  as  it  is  the 
night,  ye  know,  Mr.  Finch.  There  's  something  else  besides 
that  though,  when  he  's  taken  that  way.'  'Well,  vrhat  is  it  ?' 
asked  the  mate,  carelessly.  'Oo!'  said  Macleod,  'it  can't  be 
that  this  time,  of  course,  sir — it's  when  he's  near  the  land! 
The  captain  knows  the  smell  of  it,  these  times,  Mr.  Finch,  as 
well  as  a  cockroach  does — an'  it 's  then  he  asks  for  a  green 


A  SEA  STORY  155 

leaf,  and  wants  to  go  straight  ashore — I  mind  he  did  it  the 
voy'ge  before  last,  sir.  He  7s  a  quiet  man,  the  captain,  as  1 

said,  for  ord'nar' — but  when  he  's  roused,  he 's  a '  'Why, 

what  was  the  matter  with  him?'  said  Finch,  more  attentive 
than  before,  'you  don't  mean  to  say? — go  on,  Mr.  Macleod/ 
The  second  mate,  however,  looked  cautious,  closed  his  lips 
firmly,  and  twirled  his  red  whiskers,  as  he  glanced  with 
one  eye  aloft  again.  'Hoo  P  said  he  carelessly,  'hoo,  it 's  noth- 
ing, nothing — just,  I  'm  thinking,  sir,  what  they  call  dis- 
gestion  ashore — all  frae  the  stommach,  Mr.  Finch.  We  used 
just  for  to  lock  the  stateroom  door,  an'  never  let  on  we 
heard — but  at  any  rate,  sir,  this  is  no  the  thing  at  all,  ye 
know!  Mester  Semm,'  continued  he  to  the  fat  midshipman, 
who  came  slowly  up  from  the  steerage,  picking  his  teeth 
with  a  pocket-knife,  'go  forrid  and  get  the  bo'sun  to  turn  up 
all  hands.' 

"  'Sir,'  said  I,  stepping  up  to  the  mate  next  moment, 
before  the  round-house,  'might  I  use  the  freedom  of  asking 
whereabouts  we  are  at  present?'  Finch  gave  me  a  look 
of  cool  indifference,  without  stirring  head  or  hand;  which 
I  saw,  however,  was  put  on,  as,  ever  since  our  boating 
affair,  the  man  evidently  detested  me,  with  all  his  pretended 
scorn.  'Oh,  certainly,  sir !'  said  he,  'of  course ! — sorry  i 
have  n't  the  ship's  log  here  to  show  you — but  it 's  two 
hundred  miles  or  so  below  St.  Helena,  eight  hundred  miles 
odd  off  the  south-west  African  coats,  with  a  light  westerly 
breeze  bound  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — so  after  that 
you  can  look  about  you,  sir!'  'Are  you  sure  of  all  that, 
sir?'  asked  I,  seriously.  'Oh  no,  of  course  not!'  said  he, 
still  standing  as  before,  'not  in  the  least,  sir !  It 's  noth- 
ing but  quadrant,  sextant,  and  chronometer  work,  after  all — 
which  every  young  gentleman  don't  believe  in!'  Then  he 
muttered  aloud,  as  if  to  himself,  'Well,  if  the  captain 
should  chance  to  ask  for  a  green  leaf,  I  know  where  to  find 
it  for  him !' 

"I  was  just  on  the  point  of  giving  him  some  angry 
answer  or  other,  and  perhaps  spoiling  all,  when  I  felt  a 
tap  on  my  shoulder,  and  on  turning  round  saw  the  Indian 
Judge,  who  had  found  me  in  the  way  either  of  his  passage 
or  his  prospect,  on  stepping  out  of  the  starboard  door. 
'Eh!'  said  he,  jocularly,  as  I  begged  his  pardon,  'eh,  young 
sir — I've  nothing  to  do  with  pardons — always  leave  that 
to  the  governor-general  and  councillors!  Been  doing  any- 
thing wrong,  then  ?  Ah,  what 's  this — still  calm,  or  some 
of  your  wind  again,  Mr.  Officer?'  'A  fine  breeze  like  to 


156  THE  GREEN  HAND 

hold,  Sir  Charles,'  answered  the  mate,  all  bows  and  polite- 
ness. 'So!'  said  Sir  Charles,  'but  I  don't  see  Captain  Wil- 
liamson at  all  this  morning — where  is  he  ?'  'I  am  sorry  to  say 
he  is  very  unwell,  Sir  Charles,'  said  Finch.  'Indeed!'  ex- 
claimed the  Judge,  with  whom  the  captain  stood  for  all  the 
seamanship  aboard,  and  looking  round  again  rather  dis- 
satisfied. 'Don't  like  that,  though.  I  hope  he  won't  be 
long  unable  to  attend  to  things,  sir — let  me  know  as  soon  as 
he  is  recovered,  if  you  please.'  'Certainly,  Sir  Charles,' 
said  the  chief  officer,  touching  his  cap  with  some  appearance 
of  pique,  'but  I  hope,  sir,  I  understand  my  duties  in  com- 
mand, Sir  Charles.'  'Dare  say,  sir,'  said  the  Judge,  'as  officer, 
probably.  Commander  absent — horrible  accidents  already,' 
he  muttered  crossly,  changing  his  usual  high  sharp  key  to  a 
harsh  croak,  like  a  saw  going  through  a  heavy  spar,  'some- 
thing sure  to  go  wrong — wish  we  'd  done  with  this  deuced 
tiresome  voyage.  Ha,  young  gentleman,'  exclaimed  he,  turn- 
ing, as  he  went  in,  'd'  ye  play  chess — suppose  not — eh  ?' 
'Why,  yes,  sir,'  said  I,  'I  do.'  'Well,'  continued  he,  over- 
hauling me  more  carefully  than  he  had  done  before,  though 
latterly  I  had  begun  to  be  somewhat  in  his  good  graces 
when  we  met  by  chance,  'after  all,  you  Ve  a  chess  eye,  if  you 
know  the  game  at  all.  Come  in,  then,  for  God's  sake,  and 
let 's  begin.  Ever  since  the  poor  brigadier  went,  I  Ve  had 
only  myself  or  a  girl  to  play  against.  'Gad,  sir,  there 
is  something,  I  can't  express  how  horrible  to  my  mind, 
in  being  matched  against  nobody — or,  what 's  worse,  against 
a  woman!  But  recollect,  young  gentleman,  I  cannot  bear  a 
tyro';  and  he  glanced  at  me  as  we  walked  into  the  large 
poop-cabin  as  sharply  and  as  cold  as  a  nor'-wester  ere  it 
breaks  to  windward. 

"Now  I  happened  to  know  the  game,  and  to  be  particu- 
larly fond  of  it;  so,  restless  as  I  felt  otherwise,  I  gave  the  old 
nabob  a  quiet  nod,  laid  down  my  griffin-looking  straw 
hat  on  the  sofa,  and  in  two  minutes  there  we  were,  sitting 
opposite  over  a  splendid  China-made  chessboard,  with  ele- 
phants, emperors,  mandarins,  and  Chinamen,  all  square  and 
ataunto,  as  if  they'd  been  set  ready  for  days.  The  dark 
Icitmagar  commenced  fanning  over  his  master's  head  with 
a  bright  feather  punka,  the  other  native  servant  handed 
him  his  twisted  hookah  and  lighted  it,  after  which  he 
folded  his  arms  and  stood  looking  down  on  the  board 
like  a  pundit  at  some  campaign  of  the  Great  Mogul — while 
the  Judge  himself  waited  for  mv  first  move,  as  if  it  had 
been  some  of  our  plain  English  fellows  in  Hindostan  com- 


A  SEA  STORY  15; 

mencing  against  your  whole  big  India  hubbub  and  finery, 
to  get  hold  of  it  all  in  the  end.  ior  my  part  1  sat  at 
first  all  of  a  tingle  and  tremble,  thinking  how  near  his 
lovely  daughter  might  be;  and  there  were  the  breakfast- 
cups  laid  out  on  a  round  table  at  the  other  side,  behind  me. 

"However,  I  made  my  move,  Sir  Charles  made  his,  and 
pitched  into  the  game  in  a  half-impatient,  half  long-headed 
sort  of  way,  anxious  to  get  to  the  thick  of  it,  as  it  were, 
once  more.  Not  a  word  was  said,  and  you  only  heard  the 
suck  of  the  smoke  bubbling  through  the  water-bottle  of  his 
pipe,  after  each  move  the  Judge  made;  till  I  set  myself 
to  the  play  in  right  earnest,  and,  owing  to  the  old  gentle- 
man's haste  at  the  beginning,  or  his  over-sharpness,  I  hooked 
him  into  a  mess  with  which  I  used  to  catch  the  old  hands 
at  chess  in  the  cockpit,  just  by  fancying  what  they  meant  to 
be  at.  The  Judge  lifted  his  head,  looked  at  me,  and  went 
on  again.  'Your  queen  is  in  check,  Sir  Charles !'  said  I, 
next  time,  by  way  of  a  polite  hint.  ''Check,  though,  young 
gentleman !'  said  he,  chuckling,  as  he  dropped  one  of  his 
outlandish  knights,  which  I  was  n't  yet  up  to  the  looks  of, 
close  to  the  windward  of  my  blessed  old  Turk  of  a  king; 
so  the  skirmish  was  just  getting  to  be  a  fair  set-to,  when  I 
chanced  to  lift  my  eyes,  and  saw  the  door  from  the  after 
cabin  open,  with  Miss  Hyde  coming  through.  'Now,  papa,' 
exclaimed  she  on  the  moment,  'you  must  come  to  breakfast' — 
when  all  of  a  sudden,  at  seeing  another  man  in  the  cabin, 
she  stopped  short.  Being  not  so  loud  and  griffin-like  in 
my  toggery  that  morning,  and  my  hat  off,  the  young  lady 
did  n't  recognize  me  at  first — though  the  next  minute,  I  saw 
by  her  color  and  her  astonished  look  she  not  only  did 
that,  but  something  else — no  doubt  remembering  at  last 
where  she  had  seen  me  ashore.  'Well,  child,'  said  the  Judge, 
'make  haste  with  it,  then ! — Recollect  where  we  are,  now, 
young  gentleman — and  come  to  breakkfast.'  She  had  a 
pink  muslin  morning-dress  on,  with  her  brown  hair  done 
up  like  the  Virgin  Mary  in  a  picture,  and  the  sea  had 
taken  almost  all  the  paleness  off  her  cheek  that  it  had  in 
the  ballroom  at  Epsom,  a  month  or  two  ago — and,  by  Jove! 
when  I  saw  her  begin  to  pour  out  the  tea  out  of  the  silve~ 
teapot,  I  didn't  know  where  I  was!  'Oh,  I  forgot,'  said 
the  Judge,  waving  his  hand  from  me  to  her,  in  a  hurry,  'Mr. 
Robins,  Violet!  ho,  Tcitmagar,  curry  1'ao!'  'Oh,'  said  she, 
stiffly,  with  a  cold  turn  of  her  pretty  lip,  'I  have  met  Mr. — 
Mr. —  '  'Collins,  ma'am,'  said  I.  'I  have  met  this  gen- 
tleman by  accident  before.'  'So  you  have — so  you  have,'  said 


158  THE  GREEN   HAND 

her  father;  'but  you  play  chess  well,  Mr.— a — a — what's  his 
name ?— ah!  Colly.  'Gad,  you  play  well,  sir — we  must  have 
it  out!" 

"The  young  lady  glanced  at  me  again  with  a  sort  of 
astonishment;  at  last  she  said,  no  doubt  for  form's  sake, 
though  as  indifferently  as  possible:  'You  have  xnown  your 
friend  the  missionary  gentleman  long,  I  believe,  sir? — the 
Reverend  Mr.  Thomas — i  think  that  is  his  name?'  'Oh,  no, 
ma'am !'  said  I,  hastily,  for  the  Judge  was  the  last  man  I 
wished  should  join  Westwood  and  me  together,  'only  since 
we  crossed  the  Line,  or  so.'  'Why,  I  thought  he  said  you 
were  at  school  together!'  said  she,  in  surprise.  'Why — hem 
— certainly  not,  ma'am — a — a — I — a — a — I  don't  remember 
the  gentleman  there,'  I  blundered  out.  'Eh,  what  ? — check  to 
your  queen,  young  gentleman,  surely?'  asked  Sir  Charles. 
'What 's  this,  though !  Always  like  to  hear  a  mystery  ex- 
plained, so' — and  he  gave  me  one  of  his  sharp  glances. 
'Why,  why — surely,  young  man,  now  I  think  of  it  in  that 
way,  I  've  seen  you  before  in  some  peculiar  circumstances 
or  other — on  land,  too.  Why,  where  was  it — let  me  see  now?' 
putting  his  finger  to  his  forehead  to  think ;  while  I  sat  pretty 
uneasy,  like  a  small  pawn  that  had  been  trying  to  get  to  the 
head  of  the  board,  and  turn  into  a  knight  or  a  bishop,  when 
it  falls  foul  of  a  grand  figured-out  king  and  queen.  How- 
ever, the  queen  is  the  only  piece  you  need  mind  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  blessed  hard  it  is  to  escape  from  her,  of  course. 
Accordingly,  I  cared  little  enough  for  the  old  nabob  finding 
out  I  had  gone  in  chase  of  them;  but  there  sat  his  charm- 
ing little  daughter,  with  her  eyes  on  her  teacup ;  and  whether 
the  turn  of  her  face  meant  coolness,  or  malice,  or  amusement, 
I  didn't  know — though  she  seemed  a  little  anxious,  too,  I 
thought,  lest  her  father  should  recollect  me. 

"  'It  was  n't  before  me,  young  man  ?'  asked  he,  looking  up 
of  a  sudden;  'no,  that  must  have  been  in  India — must  have 
been  in  England,  when  I  was  last  there — let  me  see.'  And  1 
could  n't  help  fancying  what  a  man's  feelings  must  be,  tried 
for  his  life,  as  I  caught  a  side-view  of  his  temples  work- 
ing, dead  in  my  wake,  as  it  were.  The  thing  was  laughable 
enough,  and  for  a  moment  I  met  Lota's  eye  as  he  mentioned 
England — 't  was  too  short  a  glimpse,  though,  to  make  out ; 
and,  thought  I,  'he  '11  be  down  on  Surrey  directly,  and  then 
Croydon — last  of  all,  the  back  of  his  garden-wall,  I  suppose !' 
''Check,'  it  was,  and  what  I  was  going  to  say  I  couldn't 
exactly  conceive,  unless  I  patched  up  some  false  place  or 
other,  with  matters  to  match,  and  mentioned  it  to  the  old 


A  SEA  STORY  159 

fellow;  though  small  chance  of  its  answering  with  such  a 
devil  of  a  lawyer — when  all  at  once  I  thought  I  heard  a 
hail  from  aloft;  then  the  second  mate's  voice  roared  close 
outside,  'Hullo! — aloft  there!'  The  next  moment  1  started 
up,  and  looked  at  Miss  Hyde,  as  I  heard  plainly  enough 
the  cry,  'On  deck  there — land  O !'  I  turned  round  at  once, 
and  walked  out  of  the  round-house  to  the  quarter-deck,  where, 
two  minutes  after,  the  whole  of  the  passengers  were  crowding 
from  below,  the  Judge  and  his  daughter  already  on  the 
poop.  Far  aloft,  upon  the  fore-to'gallant-yard,  in  the  hot 
glare  of  the  sun,  a  sailor  was  standing  with  his  hand  over 
his  eyes,  and  looking  to  the  horizon,  as  the  Indiaman  stood 
quietly  before  the  light  breeze.  'Where-away-ay  'C  was  the 
next  hail  from  the  deck.  'Broad  on  our  larboard  bow,  sir,' 
was  the  answer. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"WELL,  ma'am,"  continued  the  naval  man,  on  again  re- 
suming his  narrative,  "as  I  told  you,  the  sudden  hail  of 
'Land!'  brought  us  all  on  deck  in  a  twinkling,  in  the  midst 
of  my  ticklish  conversation  with  the  Judge.  'Hallo !  you 
aloft !'  shouted  the  chief  officer  himself,  'd'  ye  hear,  sirrah ! 
use  your  eyes  before  hailing  the  deck!'  'Land,  sir!'  came 
falling  down  again  out  of  the  sunlight;  'land  it  is,  sir — 
broad  away  on  our  larboard  bow,  sir.' 

"By  this  time  it  was  about  half-past  nine,  or  ten  o'clock, 
of  the  morning.  Heading  nearly  due  south-east,  as  we  now 
were,  the  Indiaman's  bowsprit  ran  up  into  the  full  white 
blaze  of  light,  in  which  her  fly  ing- jib  boom  seemed  to  quiver 
and  writhe  far  away  from  her  like  an  eel  in  water;  while 
the  spread  of  her  sails  against  it  loomed  twice  as  large 
as  ordinary,  from  the  sort  of  hazy  double-edged  look  they 
had,  with  a  twinkling  thread  of  sun  drawing  all  round 
them  like  a  frame,  as  if  one  saw  through  a  wrong-screwed 
glass.  You  'd  have  thought  by  the  glance  under  the  fore- 
course,  over  the  ship's  head-gratings,  she  was  travelling  off 
quietly  into  some  no-man's-land  or  other,  where  it  would  be 
so  bright  we  should  have  to  wear  blue  spectacles :  the  light 
breeze  being  almost  direct  from  nor'-west,  and  so  fairly  in  her 
favor,  with  the  help  of  her  studding-sails  she  was  making 
wonderful  progress  for  such  a  mere  breath — about  four 


160  THE  GREEN   HAND 

knots  to  the  hour,  as  I  reckoned.  The  air  aloft  appeared 
in  the  meantime  to  be  steadying  and  sucking  though  the 
water  kept  smooth,  and  her  bows  scarce  made  a  noise  in  it: 
the  wide  soft  swells  of  the  sea  just  floated  up  of  a  pale 
blue,  and  lifted  her  on,  till  she  went  seething  gently  down 
into  it  again;  only,  if  you  put  your  head  over  the  starboard 
side,  and  listened,  you  thought  you  heard  a  sort  of  dull 
poppling  ripple  coming  along  the  bends  from  round  her 
counter.  As  for  the  line  of  horizon  on  one  bow  or  the  other, 
't  was  hardly  to  be  made  out  at  all,  with  a  streaky  white 
haze  overlying  it,  up  in  the  sky  as  it  were,  on  both  sides, 
behind  the  dazzle  of  light.  However,  the  passengers  were 
fancying  all  kinds  of  fine  tropical  matters  lay  hidden  there- 
away; and  in  fact,  what  with  the  notion  of  land  after  a 
long  voyage,  and  what  with  the  faint  specks  of  bright  cloud 
that  seemed  to  be  melting  far  off  in  the  glare — to  anyone 
last  from  Gravesend,  that  had  never  seen  anything  stranger 
than  Richmond  Hill  of  a  Sunday,  the  whole  thing  ahead  of 
the  ship  would  have  rather  an  enchanted  sort  of  a  look.  At 
length  the  third  mate  was  seen  to  shove  his  spyglass  together 
in  the  topgallant  cross-trees,  and  came  slowly  down  the  rig- 
ging. 'Well,  Mr.  Rickett,'  said  the  chief  officer,  meeting  him, 
as  he  landed  on  deck.  'Well,  sir,'  said  Rickett,  'it  is  land, 
after  all,  Mr.  Finch!'  The  mate  rapped  out  an  oath,  and 
took  another  turn;  Macleod  screwed  his  mouth  as  if  he 
were  going  to  whistle,  then  pulled  his  red  whiskers  in- 
stead, and  looked  queer  at  Rickett;  while  Rickett  stood 
peering  into  his  spyglass  as  he  would  have  done  into  his 
hat,  had  he  still  been  a  foremast-man.  The  mate's  eye 
met  his,  then  turned  to  the  passengers  leaning  over  the 
poop  railing;  and  they  all  three  walked  to  the  capstan,  where 
they  began  to  overhaul  the  charts,  and  laid  their  heads  to- 
gether out  of  ear-shot. 

"Now,  whether  this  said  land  just  made  out  on  the  north- 
east trended  away  back  to  south-east,  as  the  clearer  look 
of  the  horizon  to  starboard  made  one  think,  it  was  hard  to 
say — though  in  that  way  of  it,  there  were  seemingly  two 
plans  for  widening  her  distance.  Either  Finch  might  think 
it  better  to  keep  hold  of  a  fair  wind,  and  just  edge  her  off 
enough  to  drop  the  point  on  her  weather  quarter — when,  of 
course,  if  things  stood  as  they  were,  we  should  soon  set  a 
good  stretch  of  water  betwixt  us  and  the  coast:  or  else  they 
might  brace  direct  round  on  the  other  tack,  and  head  right 
south-west'ard,  out  to  sea  again;  though  if  we  were  still  in 
it,  the  current  would  set  us  every  bit  as  much  in  its  own 


A  SEA  STORY  161 

direction  as  ever.  '  Accordingly,  I  sidled  nearer  to  the  cap- 
stan, and  watched  anxiously  for  what  the  third  mate  had 
to  propose,  after  humming  and  hawing  a  little,  and  scratch- 
ing his  head  under  his  cap  for  half  a  minute.  'At  any  rate, 
Mr.  Finch,  sir,'  said  he,  'more  especially  the  captain  being 
off  charge,  I  may  say,  why,  I  'd  advise  ye,  sir,  to —  Here 
he  dropped  his  voice;  but  Finch  apparently  agreed  to  what 
he  said. 

"  'Ready  about  ship,  there !'  said  the  second  mate  aloud 
to  the  boatswain  forward;  and  in  ten  minutes  afterwards 
the  'Seringapatam'  was  fairly  round,  as  I  had  expected, 
heading  at  a  right-angle  to  her  former  course,  with  the 
breeze  before  her  starboard  beam,  and  the  sun  blazing  on 
the  other.  I  walked  forward  to  the  bows,  and  actually  started 
to  hear  how  loud  and  clear  the  ripple  had  got  under  them 
of  a  sudden ;  meeting  her  with  a  plash,  as  if  she  were  making 
six  or  seven  knots  headway,  while  the  canvas  seemed  to  draw 
so  much  stiffer  aloft,  you  'd  have  supposed  the  breeze  had 
freshened  as  soon  as  the  helm  was  put  down.  The  mates 
looked  over  the  side  and  aloft,  rubbing  their  hands  and 
smiling  to  each  other,  as  much  as  to  say  how  fast  she 
was  hauling  off  the  bad  neighborhood  she  was  in,  though 
the  heat  was  as  great  as  ever,  and  you  did  n't  feel  a  breath 
more  air  below,  nor  see  the  water  ruffle.  To  my  notion,  in 
fact,  it  was  just  the  set  of  the  current  against  her  that 
seemingly  freshened  her  way,  the  ship  being  now  direct  in 
its  teeth;  so  that,  of  course,  it  would  keep  bearing  her  up 
all  the  time  away  north-eastward,  with  her  own  leeway  to 
help  it;  and  the  less  could  anyone  notice  the  difference 
betwixt  the  water  going  past  her  side,  and  her  passing  the 
water.  This  tack  of  hers,  which  Rickett,  no  doubt,  thought 
such  a  safe  plan,  might  be  the  very  one  to  put  her  in  a 
really  dangerous  way  yet:  for  when  they  did  discover  this 
undertow,  how  were  they  to  take  her  out  of  it,  after  all? 
Probably  by  trying  to  stand  fair  across  the  stream  of  it  to 
southward,  which,  without  three  times  the  wind  we  had, 
would  at  best  take  us  out  many  miles  nearer  the  land 
it  set  upon,  or  leave  us  perhaps  becalmed  in  the  midst  of  it. 

"The  truth  was,  that  although  I  had  n't  seen  what  like 
the  land  was,  and  could  n't  have  said,  by  the  chart,  where  we 
were,  I  began  to  have  a  faint  notion  of  whereabouts  we 
possibly  soon  might  be,  from  what  I  remembered  hearing 
an  old  quartermaster  in  the  'Iris'  say,  a  couple  of  years 
before,  regarding  a  particular  spot  on  the  south-west  coast, 
where  the  currents  at  some  seasons,  as  he  phrased  it,  made  a 


162  THE  GREEN   HAND 

regular  race-course  meeting.  The  old  fellow  gave  me  also, 
at  the  time,  some  .bearings  of  the  nearest  coast,  with  the 
landmarks  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  a  little  farther  north— 
which,  he  said,  he  would  know  if  you  set  him  down  there  of 
a  dark  night,  though  he  had  been  in  his  bed  at  Gosport 
the  minute  before,  if  there  was  just  a  bright  streak  of  sky 
to  the  eastward — namely,  a  big  black  rock  like  two  steps, 
and  a  block  at  the  foot  of  them,  somewhat  the  shape  of  a 
chipped  holystone,  running  down  on  one  side  out  of  a  high 
headland,  like  an  admiral's  cocked  hat,  with  six  mop-headed 
trees  upon  the  root  of  the  rock,  for  all  the  world  like  hairs 
on  a  wart.  Here  I  recollected  how  my  worthy  authority 
pointed  modestly  for  example  to  a  case  of  the  kind  on 
his  own  nose.  The  opposite  shore  of  its  mouth  was  flat,  with 
a  heavy  white  surf;  but  it  shut  in  so  far  upon  the  other, 
he  said,  that,  steering  from  the  south'ard,  one  would  never 
know  there  was  a  river  there  at  all.  The  Bambar,  he  called 
it;  but  if  he  meant  the  Bembarooghe,  we  could  scarcely  be 
near  it  or  that  much  toward  being  abreast  of  St.  Helena. 
For  all  I  saw,  indeed,  we  might  have  nothing  to  eastward 
of  us  save  a  hard  coast,  or  else  the  sandy  coast  farther 
down,  shoaling  out  of  sight  of  land.  At  any  rate,  I  knew  we 
must  have  got  into  the  tail  of  the  great  sea-stream  from 
round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  would,  no  doubt, 
split  out  at  sea  on  Viana's  Bank,  and  turn  partly  to  north- 
eastward thereabouts ;  so  that  it  was  n't  a  very  bad  guess 
to  suppose  we  were  getting  up  somewhere  near  Cape  Frio, 
the  likeliest  place  in  the  world  to  find  old  Bob  Martin's 
'Maze,'  which  we  used  to  joke  about  so  in  the  'Iris.' 

"What  was  done,  though,  required  to  be  done  quickly, 
and  I  looked  about  for  Tom  Westwood,  till  I  saw  him  on 
the  poop  amongst  the  rest,  talking  again  to  Miss  Hyde,  as 
they  all  crowded  towards  the  lee-quarter  to  watch  the  land- 
haze  seemingly  dropping  astern.  My  heart  swelled  as  it 
were  into  my  throat,  however,  at  such  an  appearance  of 
good  understanding  betwixt  the  two — whereas,  there  was  she, 
an  hour  ago  that  very  morning,  would  scarce  favor  me 
with  a  look  or  a  word! — and,  for  the  life  of  me,  I  couldn't 
have  spoken  to  Westwood  at  the  time,  much  less  gone  hand 
in  hand;  for  that  matter  he  didn't  seem  to  be  suspecting 
aught  wrong  to  trouble  himself  about.  What  to  say  or 
do,  either,  I  couldn't  think;  since  the  more  he  cut  me  out, 
and  the  less  friendly  I  felt  to  him,  the  less  could  I  risk 
the^  chance  of  showing  us  both  up  for  what  we  were— 
which,  of  course,  would  bring  him  in  for  the  worst  of  it; 


A  SEA  STORY  163 

as  if  /,  by  Jove,  were  going  to  serve  him  some  low  trick 
lor  the  sake  of  shoving  him  out  with  the  young  lady. 

"Meantime  I  kept  fidgeting  about,  as  if  the  deck  were  too 
hot  for  me,  snatching  a  glance  now  and  then,  in  spite  of 
myself,  at  Violet  Hyde's  fairy-like  figure;  so  different  from 
the  rest  of  them,  as  she  stretched  eagerly  from  below  the 
awning  over  the  ship's  quarter-gallery,  trying  to  make  out 
where  the  land  lay — now  putting  her  little  hand  over  her 
eyes  to  see  better,  then  covering  them  altogether  from  the 
dazzle,  as  she  drew  in  her  head  again  and  shook  her  bright 
brown  hair  in  the  shadow,  answering  Westwood — confound 
him!  The  Indian  servant  each  time  carefully  poking  out 
the  red  and  yellow  punkah-fringe  for  a  cover  over  her, 
while  the  passengers  were  one  and  all  ready  to  cry  at  not 
seeing  the  land,  and  leaving  it  behind.  The  Judge  him- 
self was  the  only  man  that  seemed  to  have  a  dim  notion  of 
something  queer  in  the  whole  case;  for  every  few  minutes 
he  walked  quietly  to  the  break  of  the  poop,  where  I  noticed 
him  cast  a  doubtful  look  down  upon  the  'chief  officer';  and 
when  the  surgeon  came  up,  he  asked  anxiously  how  Captain 
Williamson  was,  and  if  he  could  n't  be  seen  below.  However, 
the  surgeon  told  him  the  captain  had  just  fallen  for  the 
first  time  into  a  good  sleep,  and  there  was  no  admittance, 
but  he  was  likely  to  be  much  better  soon. 

"By  this  time  there  was  no  standing  out  from  under  the 
awnings,  and  the  quarter-deck  and  poop  had  to  be  well 
swabbed  to  keep  them  at  all  cool,  the  steam  of  it  rising 
inside  with  a  pitchy,  hempen  sort  of  smell  you  never  feel 
save  in  the  tropics;  the  'Seringapatam'  still  feeling  the 
breeze  aloft,  and  lifting  on  the  water  with  a  ripple  forward, 
although  her  big  courses  went  lapping  fore  and  aft  every 
time  she  swung.  The  long  white  haze  on  the  horizon  be- 
gan to  melt  as  the  sun  heightened,  clearing  from  under  the 
wake  of  the  light,  till  now  you  could  fairly  see  the  sky 
to  eastward.  Near  noon,  in  fact,  we  had  almost  dropped 
the  haze  altogether  on  the  ship's  quarter;  and  at  first  I 
was  glad  to  see  how  much  way  she  had  made  in  the  two 
hours,  when,  on  second  thoughts,  and  by  noticing  some  marks 
in  the  loom  of  it,  I  had  no  doubt  but  though  she  might  be 
farther  off,  why  it  was  only  while  she  set  more  up  to  north-  j 
eastward,  so  that  we  were  actually,  so  to  speak,  leaving  it 
by  getting  nearer!  However,  as  the  men  were  at  dinner, 
and  most  of  the  passengers  gone  off  the  poop,  down  to 
'tiffin/  I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  what  I  could  do  in  a 


164  THE  GREEN  HAND 

quiet  way,  towards  making  the  mate  think  of  it  more 
seriously. 

"  'Ah,'  said  I,  in  a  would-be  brisk  and  confidential  kind 
of  way,  'glad  we  're  leaving  that — a — you  know,  that  land, 
Mr.  Finch.'  'Indeed,  sir,'  said  he  indifferently.  'Oh,  you 
know,'  said  I,  'it's  all  very  well  for  the  passengers  there  to 
talk  fine  about  land — land — but  you  and  I,  Mr.  Finch,  don't 
need  to  be  told  that  it 's  always  dangerous  at  sea,  you  know.' 
The  mate  lifted  his  head  and  eyed  me  for  a  moment  or 
two,  between  the  disgust  a  sailor  feels  at  seeing  a  fellow 
pretend  to  aught  like  seamanship,  and  a  particular  sort  of 
spite  toward  me  which  I  'd  noticed  growing  in  him  for  the 
last  few  days — though  I  dare  say  my  breakfasting  that 
morning  in  Sir  Charles'  cabin  might  have  brought  it  to 
a  height. 

"  'Land  dangerous,  sir !'  answered  he,  carelessly,  as  he 
went  on  wiping  his  quadrant  again;  'who  put  that  into  your 
head  ?'  'Oh,  well,'  returned  I,  just  as  carelessly,  'if  it 's 
to  leeward  of  course — or  with  a  current  taking  you  towards 
it — only  then.  But  I  've  no  doubt,  Mr.  Finch,  if  this  wind 
were  to — ah — you  know,  heave  more  abaft,  that 's  to  say,  get 
stronger,  the  craft  would  at  least  stand  still,  till  you  got  her.' 
'What  on  earth  are  you  talking  about,  Mr.  Ford — Collins,  I 
mean  ?'  asked  he,  sharply.  'Really,  sir,  I  've  got  something 
more  to  attend  to  at  present,  than  such  trash  about  a  cur- 
rent, and  the  devil  knows  what  else !'  'How,  why,  Mr.  Finch,' 
said  I,  seemingly  surprised  in  my  turn,  'are  we  not  in  a  cur- 
rent, just  now,  then  ?'  'Current !'  replied  Finch,  almost  laugh- 
ing outright,  'what  does  the  man  mean  ?'  'Why,  every  one 
thinks  so,  in  the  cuddy,'  said  I,  as  if  rather  taken  aback, 
and  venturing  what  you  fair  ladies  call  a  'fib,'  'ever  since 
we  picked  up  the  bottle  last  night.'  This,  by  the  bye, 
had  got  spread  through  some  of  the  men  to  the  passengers, 
though,  of  course,  nobody  knew  what  had  been  in  it  yet. 
'There,  I  declare  now,'  continued  I,  pointing  to  our  lee- 
bow,  where  I'd  had  my  eyes  fixed  during  the  five  minutes 
we  spoke,  'we  can  try  it  again.  Do  you  see  that  bird 
yonder  on  the  water  ?'  The  mate  turned  his  head  impatiently, 
and  'Look,  watch  him,  sir,'  said  I. 

"This  was  a  tired  man-o'-war  bird  afloat  about  twenty 
fathoms  off,  with  its  sharp  white  wings  stretched  just  clear 
of  the  water,  and  its  black  eye  sparkling  in  the  sunlight, 
as  it  came  dipping  on  the  long,  smooth,  hot-blue  swell  into 
the  lee  of  the  ship's  lofty  hull,  till  you  saw  its  very  shadow 
in  the  glitter  below  it.  The  Indiaman  seemed  to  pass  him 


A  SEA  STORY  165 

as  if  he  rode  there  at  anchor;  only  the  curious  thing  was, 
that  the  bird  apparently  iieared  her  tip  from  leeward,  cross- 
ing her  larboard  quarter  within  a  fathom  or  two,  when  all 
of  a  sudden  he  got  becalmed,  as  it  were,  in  the  wake  right 
astern,  and  by  the  time  either  of  us  could  walk  to  the  ship's 
'taffrail,  she  was  close  over  him;  as  if,  whenever  her  hull  was 
end-on,  it  took  his  surface-drift  away  from  him,  and,  what 
was  more,  as  if  the  ship  kept  hold  of  it — her  eighteen  feet 
or  so  to  his  little  inch  of  a  draught — for  it  could  ii't  be  owing 
to  the  wind. 

"However,  the  man-o'-war  bird  took  offer  of  the  next 
swell  to  get  air  in  his  wings,  and  rose  off  the  heave  of  it 
with  a  sharp  bit  of  a  scream,  away  after  some  black  boobies 
diving  for  fish,  which  no  doubt  he  would  catch,  as  they 
dropped  them  at  sight  of  him. 

"The  mate  upon  this  started  and  looked  round,  then 
aloft.  'Confound  it !'  said  he  to  himself,  'if  this  breeze 
would  only  freshen !  There  is  a  sort  of  set  on  the  surface 
just  now,'  continued  he  to  me,  coolly  enough,  'though  how 
you  idlers  happened  to  have  an  idea  of  it,  puzzles  me,  un- 
less because  you  've  nothing  else  to  do  but  watch  the 
water.  Currents  are  pretty  frequent  hereabouts,  however.' 
'Dear  me !'  said  I,  'but  if  we  should —  'Stuff,  sir !'  said 
he  quickly,  'the  coast  here  must  be  steep-to  enough,  I  should 
think,  since  if  it  were  n't  for  the  haze,  we  'd  have  sighted  it 
thirty  miles  off !  What  we  want  is  wind — wind,  to  let 's  cross 
it.'  'But  then  a  calm,  Mr.  Finch,'  I  said;  'I'm  hanged 
afraid  of  those  calms !'  'Well,  well,  sir,'  said  he,  not  liking 
just  to  shake  me  off  at  once,  after  my  proving  less  of  a 
ninny  in  sea  matters  than  he  had  supposed,  'these  long 
currents  never  set  right  ashore;  even  if  we  lose  the  wind, 
as  we  may  soon,  why,  she  '11  take  off  into  the  eddy  seaward, 
sir,  if  you  must  know — the  dead-water  in-shore,  and  the  ebb- 
tide, always  give  it  a  safe  turn !' 

"All  this,  of  course,  was  as  much  to  satisfy  himself  as 
me.  'Well,  that 's  delightful/  said  I,  as  if  quite  contented, 
and  Mr.  Finch  walked  away  hastily  down  one  of  the  poop- 
ladders,  no  doubt  glad  to  get  rid  of  me  in  a  decent  manner, 
though  I  saw  him  next  minute  glancing  in  at  the  compass- 
boxes. 

"  'Keep  her  up  to  her  course,  sirrah ;  luff,  d  'ye  hear,'  said 
he  to  Jacobs,  who  was,  perhaps,  the  best  helmsman  aboard. 
'She  falls  off  tremendous  bad,  sir,'  answered  Jacobs,  with 
another  whirl  of  Ihc  spnl;<>s;  her  want  of  actual  headway 
making  the  Indiaman  sag  dead  away  to  leeward,  as  she 


166  THE  GREEN  HAND 

shoved  into  the  force  of  the  sea-stream,  running  more  and 
more  direct  upon  her  starboard  bow.  One  minute  the  courses 
would  sink  in  with  a  long  sighing  fall  to  the  lower-masts, 
the  next  her  topsails  would  flutter  almost  aback,  and  the  heat 
even  in  the  shadow  of  her  awnings  was  extreme,  yet  she 
still  seemed  to  have  a  breeze  through  the  white  glare  aloft. 
I  was  determined  to  bring  things  to  a  point  somehow  or 
other,  so  I  followed  the  mate  down  the  steps.  'Oh,  by  the 
bye,  Mr.  Finch!'  said  I,  eagerly,  'suppose  one  of  those 
dreadful — what  do  you  call  'em? — ah,  tornadoes — were  to 
come  on!  I  understand  this  is  just  the  way,  near  Africa 
— baffling  breeze — heat  suffocating — hazy  atmosphere — long 
swell — and  current  rising  to  the  surface!' 

"At  this  Finch  stood  up  in  a  perfect  fury.  'What  the 
devil  d'ye  mean,  sir,'  said  he,  'by  dodging  me  about  the 
decks  in  this  fashion,  with  these  infernally  foolish  ques- 
tions of  yours?'  'Oh,  my  fine  fellow,'  thought  1,  'you  shall 
settle  with  me  for  that.'  'Tornadoes  never  blow  hereabouts, 
except  off-shore,  if  you  must  know,  sir!'  he  rapped  out, 
sticking  his  hands  in  his  jacket  pockets  as  he  said  so,  and 
taking  a  turn  on  the  quarter-deck.  'That 's  quite  a  mis- 
take, I  assure  you,  sir!'  said  I,  carried  away  with  the 
spirit  of  the  thing :  'I  've  seen  the  contrary  fifty  times 
over,  and,  from  the  look  of  the  sky  aloft  just  now, 
I  'd  bet —  Here  I  stopped,  recollected  myself,  put  the 
top  of  my  cane  in  my  mouth,  and  peered  under  the  awn- 
ing at  the  sea  with  my  eyes  half  shut,  as  sleepily  as 
usual  with  my  messmates  the  cadets.  The  chief  officer, 
however,  stepped  back  in  surprise,  eyed  me  sharply,  and 
seemed  struck  with  a  sudden  thought.  'Why,  sir,'  said  he, 
rather  anxiously,  'who  may — what  can  you  know  of  the  mat- 
ter?' 'Pooh!'  replied  I,  seeing  some  of  the  passengers 
were  coming  on  deck,  'I  'm  only  of  an  inquiring  turn  of 
mind!  You  seafaring  persons,  Mr.  Finch,  think  we  can't 
get  any  of  that  kind  of  knowledge  on  land;  but  if  you  look 
into  Johnson's  Dictionary,  why,  you  '11  find  the  whole  thing 
under  the  word  Tornado :  't  was  one  of  the  pieces  I  'd  to 
•  get  by  heart  before  they  'd  admit  me  into  our  yacht  club — 
along  with  Falconer's  "Shipwreck,"  you  know!'  'Indeed!' 
said  the  mate,  slowly,  with  a  curl  of  his  lip,  and  overhaul- 
ing me  from  head  to  foot  and  up  again;  'ah,  indeed!  That 
was  the  way,  was  it,  sir  ?'  I  saw  't  was  no  use.  I  dare 
say  he  caught  the  twinkle  in  my  eye;  while  Jacobs'  face 
behind  him,  was  like  the  knocker  on  a  door  with  trying 


A  SEA  STORY  167 

to  screw  it  tight  over  his  quid,  and  stuffing  the  knot  of  his 
neckerchief  in  his  mouth. 

"'Of  course,  sir,'  answered  I,  letting  my  voice  fall;  'and 
the  long  and  the  short  of  it  is,  Mr.  Finch,  the  sooner  you 
get  your  ship  out  of  this  current  the  better !  And  what 's 
more,  sir,  I  dare  say  I  could  tell  you  how!' 

"Whether  he  was  waiting  for  what  I'd  to  say,  or  think- 
ing of  something  just  occurred  to  him,  but  Finch  still 
gazed  steadily  at  me,  without  saying  a  word;  so  I  went  on. 
'You  must  know  I  had  an  old  uncle  who  was  long 
in  his  Majesty's  Koyal  Navy,  and  if  there  was  one  point 
he  was  crazy  upon  't  was  just  this  very  matter  of  currents 
— though,  for  my  part,  Mr.  Finch,  I  really  never  understood 
what  he  meant  till  I  made  a  voyage.  He  used  to  tell 
my  mother,  poor  woman — who  always  fancied  they  had 
somewhat  to  do  with  puddings — that  he  'd  seen  no  less 
than  half  a  dozen  ships  go  on  shore,  owing  to  currents. 
Now,  Jane,  he  'd  say,  when  you  're  fairly  in  a  current, 
never  you  try  to  cross  out  of  it,  as  folks  often  do,  against 
the  run  of  it,  for  in  that  case,  unless  the  wind 's  strong 
enough,  why,  instead  of  striking  the  eddy  to  take  your 
craft  right  off-shore,  it  '11  just  set  you  over  and  over  to 
the  inside.  You  '11  cross,  in  the  end,  no  doubt — but  ten  to 
one  it 's  exactly  where  the  water  begins  to  shoal ;  whereas, 
the  right  plan  's  as  simple  as  daylight,  and  that 's  why  so  few 
know  it !  Look  ye,  he  'd  say,  always  you  cross  with  the  stream 
— no  matter  though  your  head  seems  to  make  landward ;  why, 
the  fact  is,  it  '11  just  set  you  outside  of  itself,  clear  into 
its  own  bight,  when  you  can  run  off  to  seaward  with  the 
eddy,  if  ye  choose.  That's  the  way  to  cross  a  current,  my 
uncle  used  to  say,  provided  you  've  but  a  light  wind  for 
handling  her  with!  Now,  Mr.  Finch,'  added  I,  coolly,  and 
still  mouthing  my  stick  as  before — for  I  could  n't  help 
wishing  to  give  the  conceited  fellow  a  rub,  while  I  lent  him 
a  hint — 'for  my  own  part,  I  can't  know  much  of  these 
things,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  as  if  my  uncle's  notions 
pretty  well  suited  the  case  in  hand !' 

"Finch  was  too  much  of  a  fair  seaman  not  to  catch  my 
drift  at  once,  but  in  too  great  a  passion  to  own  it  at  the 
time.  'D  'ye  think,  sir,'  said  he,  with  a  face  like  fire,  'so 
much  sense  as  there  is  in  this  long  rigmarole  of  yours,  that 
I  'm  such  a — that 's  to  say,  that  I  did  n't  know  it  before, 
sir?  But  what  I've  got  to  do  with  you,  Mr.  Collinson,  or 
whatever  your  name  may  be — you  may  have  been  at  sea 
twenty  years,  for  aught  I  care — but  I  'd  like  to  know  why 


i68  THE  GREEN  HAND 

you  come  aboard  here,  and  give  yourself  out  for  as  raw  a 
greenhorn  as  ever  touched  ropes  with  a  kid  glove?'  'Well, 
Mr.  Finch,'  said  I,  'and  what's  that  to  you,  if  I  choose  to 
be  as  green  as  the  North  Sea  whaling  ground  ?'  'Why,  sir,' 
said  Finch,  working  himself  up,  'you  're  devilish  cunning,  no 
doubt,  but  perhaps  you  're  not  aware  that  a  passenger  under 
a  false  rig  in  an  Indiaman,  may  be  clapped  in  limbo,  if 
the  captain  thinks  fit?  Who  and  what  are  you,  I  ask?— 
some  runaway  master's  mate,  I  suppose,  unless  you've 
got  something  deeper  in  hand!  Perhaps,'  ended  he,  with 
a  sneer,  'a  pickpocket  in  disguise?'  'Sir,'  said  I,  getting 
up  off  the  bulwark  I'd  been  leaning  upon,  'at  present  I 
choose  to  be  a  cadet,  but,  at  any  rate,  you  shall  make  an 
apology  for  what  you  said  just  now,  sir !'  'Apology !'  said  the 
mate,  turning  on  his  heel,  'I  shan't  do  anything  of  the 
sort!  You  may  be  thankful,  in  the  meantime,  if  I  don't 
have  you  locked  up  below,  that 's  all !  Perhaps,  by  the  bye, 
sir,  all  you  wanted  was  to  show  off  your  seamanship  before 
the  young  lady  in  the  round-house  there?'  Here  the  glance 
the  fellow  gave  me  was  enough  to  show  he  knew  pretty  well, 
all  the  while,  what  we  were  matched  against  each  other  for. 

"I  could  stand  this  no  longer,  of  course;  but,  seeing  that 
one  or  two  of  the  passengers  were  noticing  us  from  the  poop, 
I  looked  as  polite  as  possible  to  do  when  you  've  lost  your 
temper;  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  disappointment  of  this  hare- 
brained cruise  of  mine — not  to  speak  of  a  few  things  one 
had  to  stand — carried  me  away  at  the  moment.  There  was 
no  scheme  I  would  n't  rather  have  been  suspected  of,  by 
this  time,  than  the  real  one — namely,  having  gone  in  chase 
of  Violet  Hyde.  I  took  a  card  out  of  my  pocket,  and 
handed  it  quietly  to  Mr.  Finch.  'You  don't  seem  able  to 
name  me,  sir,'  said  I.  'However,  I  give  you  my  word,  you 
may  trust  that  bit  of  pasteboard  for  it;  and  as  1  take 
you  to  be  a  gentleman  by  your  place  in  this  ship,  why, 
I  shall  expect  the  satisfaction  one  gentleman  should  give 
another,  the  first  time  we  get  ashore,  although  it  should  be 
to-morrow  morning !  And,  by  Jove !'  thought  I,  'I  hope  I  'm 
done  with  the  most  foolish  trick  ever  a  fellow  played  him- 
self! The  man  that  ventures  to  call  me  green  again,  or  look 
at  me  as  if  he  wanted  to  cool  his  eyes,  hang  me  if  he  shan't 
answer  for  it!  As  for  a  woman,'  thought  I,  but,  oh,  those 
two  blue  eyes  yonder — confound  it !  as  I  caught  sight  of  a 
white  muslin  skirt  in  the  shade  of  the  poop-awning  above. 

"I  must  say  for  Finch,  he  took  my  last  move  coolly 
enough,  turning  round  to  give  me  another  look,  after  glancing 


A  SEA  STORY  169 

at  the  card.  'Indeed!'  said  he,  as  if  rather  surprised;  'well, 
sir,  I'm  your  man  for  that,  though  it  can't  be  just  as  soon 
as  to-morrow  morning!  A  Company's  officer  may  meet  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Navy  any  time — ay,  and  take  his  ship  off 
the  land,  too,  I  hope,  sir!'  and  with  that  he  walked  off 
forward.  'Lieutenant!'  said  I  to  myself;  'how  did  he  give 
me  my  commission  so  pat,  I  wonder?'  and  I  pulled  out 
another  card,  when  I  found,  to  my  great  annoyance,  that  in 
my  hurry  that  morning  I  had  happened  to  put  on  a  coat 
of  Westwood's  by  mistake,  and  instead  of  plain  'Mr.  Col- 
lins,' they  were  all  'Lieutenant  Westwood,  R.  N.'  'Here's 
another  confounded  mess!'  thought  I,  'and  all  will  be  blown 
in  the  end!'  However,  on  second  thoughts,  the  notion 
struck  me,  that,  by  sticking  to  the  name,  as  I  must  do  now 
at  any  rate,  why,  I  should  keep  Westwood  clear  of  all 
scrapes,  which,  in  his  case,  might  be  disagreeable  enough; 
whereas,  at  present,  he  was  known  only  as  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Thomas — and,  as  for  his  either  shamming  the  griffin,  or  giv- 
ing hints  how  to  work  the  ship,  he  was  one  of  those  men 
you  'd  scarce  know  for  a  sailor,  by  aught  in  his  manner, 
at  least;  and,  indeed,  Tom  Westwood  always  seemed  to 
need  a  whole  frigates'  ways  about  him,  with  perhaps  some- 
what of  a  stir,  to  show  what  he  really  was. 

"Five  minutes  or  so  after  this,  it  did  n't  certainly  sur- 
prise me  much  to  see  the  Indiaman  laid  on  the  opposite  tack, 
with  her  head  actually  north-by-east,  or  within  a  few  points 
of  where  the  light  haze  faded  into  the  sky:  the  mate  seem- 
ing by  this  time  to  see  the  matter  clearly,  and  quietly 
making  his  own  of  it.  The  ship  began  to  stand  over  towards 
the  outer  set  of  the  current,  which  could  now  be  seen  rip- 
pling along  here  and  there  to  the  surface,  as  the  breeze 
fell  slowly:  you  heard  nothing  save  the  faint  plash  of  it 
astern  under  one  counter,  the  wafting  and  rustling  of  her 
large  main-course  above  the  awnings,  for  she  was  covered  over 
like  a  caravan — the  slight  flap  of  her  jibs  far  ahead  on 
the  bowsprit  startled  you  now  and  then  as  distinctly  as 
if  you  got  a  fillip  on  your  own  nose;  the  stun-sail,  high 
up  beside  the  weather-leech  of  her  fore-topsail,  hung  slack 
over  the  boom,  and  one  felt  each  useless  jolt  of  the  wheel 
like  a  foot-slip  in  loose  sand  when  you  want  to  run — 
all  betwixt  the  lazy,  listless  voices  of  the  'passengers,  drop- 
ping and  dropping  as  separate  as  the  last  sands  in  an  hour- 
glass. Still,  every  minute  of  air  aloft  helped  her  nearer 
to  where  you  saw  the  water  winding  about  the  horizon  in 
long  swathes,  as  it  were,  bluer  than  the  rest,  and  swelling 


1 7o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

brimful,  so  to  speak,  out  of  a  line  of  light;  with  the  long 
dents  and  bits  of  ripple  here  and  there  creeping  towards 
it,  till  the  whole  round  of  the  surface,  as  far  as  you  could 
see,  came  out  into  the  smooth,  like  the  wrinkles  011  a  nutmeg. 
"'Four  bells  of  the  afternoon  watch  had  struck — two  o'clock 
that  is — when  Rickett,  the  third  mate,  and  one  or  two  men, 
went  out  to  the  arm  of  the  spritsail-yard  across  the  bow- 
sprit,  where  they  lowerd   away   a   heavy   pitch-pot   with   a 
long  strip  of  yellow  bunting  made  fast  to  it,  and  weighted 
a  little  at  the  loose  end,  to  mark  the  set  of  the  current; 
and   as  the  pot   sank  away  out  on  her  larboard  bow,  one 
could  see  the  bright-colored  rag  deep  down  through  the  clear 
blue  water,  streaming  almost  fairly  north.     She  appeared  to 
be  nearing  the  turn  of  the  eddy,  and  the  chief  officer's  spirits 
began  to  rise.     Rickett  screwed  one  eye  close,  and  looked 
out  under  his  horny  palm  with  the  other,  doubtful,  as  he 
said,  that   we  should   'sight  the  land  off-deck  before  that. 
As  for  this  trifle  of  an  air  aloft,  sir,'  said  he,  'I'm  afraid 
we  won't —    -'   'Hoot,  Mr.  Reckett,'  put  in  Macleod,  stepping 
one  of  his  long  trouser  legs  down  from  over  the  quarter- 
deck  awning,   like   an   ostrich   that   had   been   aloft,   'ye 're 
aye    afraid ;    but    it 's    not    easy   to    see    aloft,    Mr.    Fench, 
sir.'     'How  does  the  land  lie  now,  Mr.  Macleod?'  asked  the 
first  officer.    'Well,  I  wouldn't  wonder  but  we  soon  dropped 
it,  sir — that 's  to  east'ard,  I  mean,'  replied  he ;  'though  it 's 
what  we  call  a  'bit  mountainous,  in  Scotland — not  that  un- 
like  the   Grampians,   Mr.    Fench,   ye   know!'     'Hang   your 
Grampians,  man ! — what 's  ahead  of  us,  eh  ?'  said  the  mate 
hastily.    'Why,  sir,'  said  the  Scotchman,  'there  is  some  more 
of  it  on  the  nor'-east,  lower  a  good   deal — it 's  just  flush 
with  the   water  from  here,  at  present,  Mr.  Fench — with  a 
peak   or  two,   trending   away  too'ard   north;   but   the  light 
yonder  on  our  starboard  bow  makes  them  hard  for  to  see, 
I  may  say.' 

"In  fact,  some  of  the  men  forward  were  making  it  out 
already  on  the  starboard  bow,  where  you  could  see  the  faint 
ragged  shape  of  a  headland  coming  out,  as  it  were,  of  the 
dazzle  beyond  the  water,  which  lay  flickering  and  heav- 
ing between,  from  deep-blue  far  away  into  pale ;  while  almost 
at  the  same  time,  on  her  starboard  quarter,  where  there 
was  less  of  the  light,  another  outline  was  to  be  seen  looming 
like  pretty  high  land,  though  still  fainter  than  the  first.  As 
for  the  space  betwixt  them,  for  aught  one  could  distinguish 
as  yet,  there  might  be  nothing  there  except  air  and  water 
over  against  the  ship's  side. 


A  SEA  STORY  171 

"  'Well,'  said  the  mate,  briskly,  after  a  little,  'we  're  pretty 
sure,  now,  to  have  the  land-breeze  to  give  us  sea-room,  be- 
fore two  or  three  hours  are  over — by  which  time,  I  hope 
we  '11  be  in  the  eddy  of  this  infernal  current,  at  any  rate !' 
However,  I  was  scarce  sure  he  did  n't  begin  to  doubt  the 
plan  I  'd  given  him ;  whereas  had  he  known  the  whole  case 
in  time,  and  done  the  thing  then,  it  was  certain  enough — 
and  the  best  thing  he  could  do,  even  as  it  was:  but  what 
troubled  me  now,  why,  suppose  anything  happened  to  the 
ship,  might  n't  he  turn  the  tables  on  me  after  all,  and  say 
I  had  some  bad  design  in  it?  I  loitered  about  with  my 
arms  folded,  saying  never  a  word,  but  watching  the  whole 
affair  keener  than  I  ever  did  one  of  Shakespeare's  plays  in 
the  theatre  after  a  dull  cruise;  not  a  thing  in  sea,  sky,  or 
Indiaman,  from  the  ripples  far  off  on  the  water  to  ugly 
Harry  hauling  taut  the  jib-sheet  with  his  chums,  but  some- 
how or  other  they  seemed  all  to  sink  into  me  at  the  time, 
as  if  they  'd  all  got  to  come  out  again  strong.  You  hardly 
knew  when  the  ship  lost  the  last  breath  of  air  aloft,  till, 
from  stealing  through  the  smooth  water,  she  came  apparently 
to  a  standstill,  everything  spread  broad  out,  not  even  a 
flap  in  the  canvas  almost,  it  had  fallen  a  dead  calm  so  grad- 
ually. 

"However,  my  troubles  were  n't  seemingly  over  yet,  for 
just  then  up  came  the  Judge's  dark  kitmagar  to  the  gang- 
way where  I  was,  and,  from  the  sly  impudence  of  the  fel- 
low's manner,  I  at  once  fancied  there  was  something  par- 
ticular in  the  wind,  as  if  he  'd  been  seeking  me  about- 
decks.  'S'laam,  mistree!'  said  he,  with  but  a  slight  duck 
of  his  flat  brown  turban,  'Judge  sahib  i-send  Culley  Mistree 
his  chupprass'— message,  forsooth! — 'sah'b  inquire  the  flavor 
of  gentlyman's  Ees-Inchee  Coompanee,  two-three  moment!' 
'The  flavor  of  my  East-India  Company,  you  rascal !'  said  I, 
laughing,  yet  inclined  to  kick  him  aft  again  for  his  im- 
pertinent look ;  'speak  for  yourself,  if  you  please !' 

"In  fact,  the  whiff  of  cocoanut  oil,  and  other  dark  per- 
fumes about  him,  came  out  in  a  hot  calm  at  sea,  when  every- 
thing sickens  one,  as  to  need  no  inquiry  about  the  matter; 
however,  I  walked  straight  aft  to  the  round-house,  and  in 
at  the  open  door,  through  which  Sir  Charles  was  to  be  seen 
pacing  from  one  side  of  his  cabin  to  the  other,  like  a 
Bengal  tiger  in  a  cage.  'Hark  ye,  young  man,'  said  he 
sternly,  turning  as  soon  as  I  came  in,  with  my  hat  in  my 
hand,  'since  I  had  the  honor  of  your  company  here  this 
morning,  I  have  recollected — indeed,  I  find  that  one  of  my 


172  THE  GREEN  HAND 

servants  had  done  the  same — that  you  are  the  person  who 
molested  my  family  by  various  annoyances  beside  my  gar- 
den at  Croydon,  sir!'  'Indeed,  Sir  Charles!'  said  I,  coolly, 
for  the  bitter  feeling  I  had  made  me  cool:  'they  must  have 
been  unintentional  then,  sir!  But  I  was  certainly  at  Croy- 
don, seeing  my  mother's  house  happens  to  be  there.'  'You 
must  have  had  some  design  in  entering  this  vessel,  sir!' 
continued  the  Judge,  in  a  passion :  '  'gad,  sir,  the  coinci- 
dence is  too  curious !  Tell  me  what  it  is  at  once,  or  by ' 

'My  design  was  to  go  to  India,  sir,'  answered  i,  as  quietly 
as  before.  'In  what  capacity? — who  are  you? — what — who — 
what  do  you  want  there,  eh?'  rapped  out  the  Judge.  T  m 
not  aware,  sir,'  said  I,  'what  right  you  've  got  to  question 
me ;  but  I — in  fact,  I  '11  tell  so  much  to  any  man — why, 
I  'm  an  officer  in  the  Navy.' 

"Sir  Charles  brought  short  up  in  his  pacing  and  stamping, 
and  stared  at  me.  'An  officer  in  the  Navy!'  repeated  he; 
'but  yes — why,  now  I  think,  I  do  remember  something  in 
your  dress,  sir — though  it  was  the  face  that  struck  me !  In 
short  then,  sir,  this  makes  the  case  worse:  you  are  here 
on  false  pretences — affecting  the  very  reverse,  sir — setting 
yourself  up  for  a  model  of  simplicity, — a  laughing-stock,  in- 
deed!' 'I  had  reasons  for  not  wishing  my  profession  to  be 
known,  Sir  Charles,'  said  I ;  'most  special  reasons.  They  're 
now  over,  however,  and  I  don't  care  who  knows  it !'  'May  I 
ask  what  these  were?'  said  the  Judge.  'That  I'll  never  tell 
to  any  man  breathing!'  I  said  determinedly. 

"The  Judge  walked  two  or  three  times  fore  and  aft; 
then  a  thought  seemed  to  strike  him — he  looked  but  as  if 
at  the  decks  and  through  below  the  awnings,  then  shut 
the  door  and  came  back  to  me  again.  'By  the  way,'  said 
he,  seriously,  and  changing  his  tone,  'since  this  extraordinary 
acknowledgment  of  yours,  sir,  something  occurs  to  me  which 
makes  me  almost  think  your  presence  in  the  vessel  in  one 
sense  opportune.  I  have  reason  to  entertain  a  high  opinion 
of  naval  officers  as  technical  men,  professionally  educated 
in  his  Majesty's  regular  service,  and — you  look  rather 
a  young  man — but  have  you  had  much  experience,  may 
I  ask?'  'I  have  been  nine  or  ten  years  at  sea,  sir,'  replied 
I,  a  little  taken  aback,  'in  various  parts  of  the  world !'  '1 
have  some  suspicion  lately,'  he  went  on,  'that  this  vessel 
is  not  navigated  in  a — in  short,  that  at  present,  probably, 
we  may  be  in  some  danger — do  you  think  so,  sir?'  'No,  Sir 
Charles,'  said  I,  'I  don't  think  she  is,  as  matters  stand — • 
only  in  a  troublesome  sort  of  quarter,  which  the  sooner 


A  SEA  STORY  173 

she  's  out  of,  the  better.'  'The  commander  is,  I  find,  dan- 
gerously unwell,'  continued  he,  'and  of  the  young  man  who 
seems  to  have  the  chief  care  of  the  vessel,  I  have  no  very 
high — well — that,  of  course  I —  Now,  sir,'  said  he,  looking 
intently  at  me,  'are  you  capable  of — in  short  of  managing  this 
Company's  vessel,  should  any  emergency  arise?  I  have  seen 
such,  myself — and  in  the  circumstances  I  feel  considerable 
alarm — uneasiness,  at  least! — Eh,  sir?'  'Depend  upon  it,  Sir 
Charles,'  I  said,  stepping  toward  the  door,  'in  any  rnatter 
of  the  kind  I  '11  do  my  best  for  this  ship !  But  none  knows 
so  well  as  a  seaman,  there  are  cases  enough  where  your 
very  best  can't  do  much!' 

"The  Judge  seemed  rather  startled  by  my  manner — for  I 
did  feel  a  little  misgiving,  from  something  in  the  weather 
on  the  whole;  at  any  rate  I  fancied  there  was  a  cold-blood- 
edness in  every  sharp  corner  of  his  face,  bilious  though 
his  temper  was,  that  would  have  let  him  see  me  go  to  the 
bottom  a  thousand  times  over,  had  I  even  had  a  chance  with 
his  daughter  herself,  ere  he  'd  have  yielded  me  the  tip  of 
her  little  finger:  accordingly  'twas  a  satisfaction  to  me, 
at  the  moment,  just  to  make  him  see  he  wasn't  altogether 
in  his  nabob's  chair  in  Bengal  yet,  on  an  elephant's  back. 

"  'Ah,  though !'  said  he,  raising  his  voice  to  call  me  back, 
'to  return  for  an  instant — there  is  one  thing  I  must  posi- 
tively require,  sir — which  you  will  see,  in  the  circumstances, 
to  be  unavoidable.  As  a  mere  simple  cadet,  observe,  sir, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  objected  to  in  a  slight  passing 
acquaintance — but,  especially  in  the — in  short  equivocal — 
sir,  I  must  request  of  you  that  you  will  on  no  account 
attempt  to  hold  any  communication  with  my  daughter,  Miss 
Hyde — beyond  a  mere  bow,  of  course !  'T  will  be  disagree- 
able, I  assure  you.  Indeed,  I  shall —  'Sir,'  said  1,  all 
the  blood  in  my  ^  body  going  to  my  face,  'of  all  things  in 
the  world,  that  is  the  very  thing  where  your  views  and 
mine  happen  to  square !'  and  I  bowed. 

"The  man's  coolness  disgusted  me,  sticking  such  a  thing 
in  my  teeth,  after  just  reckoning  on  my  services  with  the 
very  same  breath — and  all  when  it  wasn't  required,  too! 
And  by  Heaven !  thought  I,  had  she  shown  me  favor,  all  the 
old  nabobs  in  Christendom,  and  the  whole  world  to  boot, 
should  n't  hinder  me  from  speaking  to  her !  What  I  said 
apparently  puzzled  him,  but  he  gave  me  a  grand  bow  in 
his  turn,  and  I  had  my  hand  on  the  door,  when  he  said,  'I 
suppose,  sir,  as  a  naval  officer,  you  have  no  objection  to 
give  me  your  name  and  rank.  I  forget  what — '  Here  I 


i74  THE  GREEN  HAND 

remembered  my  mistake  with  the  mate,  and  on  the  whole 
I  saw  I  must  stick  by  it  till  I  was  clear  of  the  whole 
concern;  as  for  saying  my  name  was  Westwood,  that  1 
couldn't  have  done  at  the  time  for  worlds,  but  1  quietly 
handed  him  another  card;  meaning,  of  course,  to  give 
Westwood  the  cue  as  shortly  as  possible,  for  his  own  safety. 
The  Judge  started  on  seeing  the  card,  gave  me  one  of  his 
sharp  glances,  and  made  a  sudden  step  towards  me.  'Have 
you  any  relation  in  India,  Mr.  Westwood?'  said  he,  slowly; 
to  which  I  gave  only  a  nod.  'What  is  he,  if  I  may  in- 
quire?' asked  he  again.  'A  councillor  or  something,  1  be- 
lieve,' said  I,  carelessly.  'Thomas  Westwood?'  said  Sir 
Charles.  'Ah,'  said  I,  wearied  of  the  thing,  and  anxious  to 
go.  'An  uncle,  probably,  from  the  age?'  he  still  put  in. 
'Exactly,  that's  it!'  I  said.  'Why — what! — why  did  you 
not  mention  this  at  first?'  he  broke  out  suddenly,  coming 
close  up ;  'why,  Councillor  Westwood  is  my  very  oldest  friend 
in  India,  my  dear  sir!  This  alters  the  matter.  1  should 
have  welcomed  a  nephew  of  his  in  my  house,  to  the  utmost! 
Why,  how  strange,  Mr.  Westwood,  that  the  fact  should 
emerge  in  this  curious  manner!'  and  with  that  he  held  out 
his  hand.  'Of  course,'  said  he,  'no  such  restriction  as  1  men- 
tioned could  for  a  moment  apply  to  a  nephew  of  Councillor 
Westwood !' 

"I  stared  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  then — 'Sir,'  said  1, 
coolly,  'it  seems  the  whole  matter  goes  by  names;  but  if  my 
name  were  the  devil  or  the  apostle  Paul,  1  don't  see  how  it 
can  make  a  bit  of  difference  in  me :  what 's  more,  sir,'  said  1, 
setting  my  teeth,  'whatever  my  name  may  be,  depend  upon  it, 
I  shall  never  claim  acquaintance  either  with  you  or — or — 
Miss  Hyde!'  With  that  I  flung  straight  out  of  the  cabin, 
leaving  the  old  gentleman  bolt  upright  on  the  floor,  and  as 
dumb  as  a  stockfish,  whether  with  rage  or  amazement  1 
never  stopped  to  think. 

"I  went  right  forward  on  the  Indiaman's  forecastle,  clear 
of  all  the  awnings,  dropped  over  her  head  out  of  sight  of 
the  men,  and  sat  with  my  legs  amongst  the  open  woodwork 
beneath  the  bowsprit,  looking  at  the  calm — nobody  in  sight 
but  the  Hindoo  figure,  who  seemed  to  be  doing  the  same. 
Westwood!  thought  I  bitterly;  then  in  a  short  time,  when 
the  mistake 's  found  out,  and  he  got  safe  past  the  Cape, 
perhaps — it  '11  be  nothing  but  Westwood !  He  '11  have  a 
clear  stage,  and  all  favor;  but  at  any  rate,  however  it  may 
be  /  '11  not  be  here,  by  Heaven !  to  see  it.  That  cursed 
councillor  of  his,  I  suppose,  is  another  nabob — and  no  doubt 


A  SEA  STORY  175 

he'll  marry  her,  all  smooth!  Uncles — I  little  thought,  by 
Jove!  when  I  knocked  off  that  yarn  to  the  mate  about  my 
uncle — but,  after  all,  it 's  strange  how  often  a  fellow  's  paid 
back  in  his  own  coin ! 

"The  heat  at  the  time  was  unbearable — heat,  indeed! 
't  was  n't  only  heat — but  a  heavy,  close,  stifling  sort  of  feeling, 
like  in  a  hothouse,  as  if  you  'd  got  a  weight  on  your  head 
and  every  other  bit  of  you:  the  water  one  time  so  dead- 
blue  and  glassy  between  the  windings  of  it,  that  the  sky 
seemed  to  vanish,  and  the  ship  looked  floating  up  into  where 
it  was — then  again  you  scarce  knew  sea  from  air,  except  by 
the  wrinkles  and  eddies  running  across  each  other  between, 
toward  a  sullen  blue  ring  at  the  horizon — like  seeing  through 
a  big  twisted  sieve,  or  into  a  round  looking-glass  all  over 
cracks.  I  heard  them  clew  up  everything  aloft,  except 
the  topsails — and  they  fell  slapping  back  and  forward  to 
the  masts,  every  now  and  then  with  a  thud  like  a  thousand 
spades  clapped  down  at  once  over  a  hollow  bit  of  ground — 
till  all  seemed  as  still  between  as  if  they  'd  buried  some- 
thing. I  wished  to  Heaven  it  were  what  I  felt  at  the  time, 
and  the  thought  of  Violet  Hyde,  that  I  might  be  as  if  I 
never  had  seen  her — when  on  glancing  up  betwixt  the  tigure- 
head  and  the  ship's  stern,  it  struck  me  to  notice  how  much 
the  land  on  her  starboard  bow  and  beam  seemed  to  have 
risen,  even  during  the  last  hour,  and  that  without  wind; 
partly  on  account  of  its  clearing  in  that  quarter,  perhaps; 
but  the  nearest  points  looked  here  and  there  almost  as  if 
you  could  see  into  them,  roughening  barer  out  through  the 
hue  of  the  distance,  like  purple  blotches  spreading  in  it. 
Whereas,  far  away  astern  of  us,  when  I  crossed  over  her 
headworks,  there  were  two  or  three  thin  white  streaks  of 
haze  to  be  seen  just  on  the  horizon,  one  upon  another,  above 
which  you  made  out  somewhat  like  a  dim  range  of  peaked 
land,  trending  one  could  n't  say  how  far  back — all  showing 
how  fairly  the  coast  was  shutting  her  in  upon  the  south-east, 
as  she  set  farther  in-shore,  even  while  the  run  of  the  cur- 
rent bade  fair  to  take  her  well  clear  of  it  ahead;  which  was 
of  course  all  we  need  care  for  at  present.  Her  want  of 
steer  age- way,  however,  let  the  Indiaman  sheer  hither  and 
thither,  till  at  times  one  was  apt  to  get  confused,  and  sup- 
pose her  more  in  with  the  land-loom  than  she  really  was. 
Accordingly  the  mate  proved  his  good  judgment  by  having 
a  couple  of  boats  lowered  with  a  tow-line,  to  keep  her  at 
least  stern-on  to  the  current,  although  the  trouble  of  getting 
out  the  launch  would  have  more  served  his  purpose,  and  the 


176  THE  GREEN  HAND 

deeper  loaded  the  better,  since  in  fact  there  were  two  favor- 
able drifts  instead  of  one,  between  every  stroke  of  the  oars. 
The  men  pulled  away  rather  sulkily,  their  straw  hats  over 
their  noses,  the  dip  of  the  hawser  scarce  tautening  at  each 
strain,  as  they  squinted  up  at  the  'Seringapatam's'  idle  fig- 
ure-head. For  my  part  I  had  thought  it  better  to  leave  him 
by  himself,  and  go  below. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

"WHEN  I  went  into  the  cuddy,  more  for  reliefs  sake  than 
to  dine,  the  passengers  were  chattering  and  talking  away 
round  the  tables,  hot  and  choking  though  it  was,  in  high 
glee  because  the  land  was  in  sight  from  the  starboard  port- 
window,  and  they  fancied  the  officers  had  changed  their 
minds  as  to  'touching'  there.  Every  now  and  then  a 
cadet  or  two  would  start  up,  with  their  silver  forks  in 
their  hands,  and  put  their  heads  out;  some  asked  whether 
the  anchor  had  been  seen  getting  ready  or  not;  others  dis- 
puted about  the  color  of  tropical  trees,  if  they  were  actually 
green  like  English  ones,  or  perhaps  all  over  blossoms  and 
fruit  together — the  whole  of  them  evidently  expecting  bands 
of  negroes  to  line  the  shore  as  we  came  in. 

"One  young  fellow  had  taken  a  particular  fancy  to  have 
an  earthworm,  with  earth  enough  to  feed  it  all  the  rest  of 
the  voyage,  otherwise  he  couldn't  stand  it;  and  little 
Tommy's  mother  almost  went  into  hysterics  again  when 
she  said,  if  she  could  just  eat  a  lettuce  salad  once  more, 
she  'd  die  contented ;  the  missionary  looking  up  through  his 
spectacles,  in  surprise  that  she  was  n't  mor»  interested  about 
the  slave-trade,  whereof  he'd  been  talking  to  her.  As  for 
Westwood,  he  joined  quietly  in  the  fun,  with  a  glanf^ 
now  and  then  across  to  me;  however,  I  pretended  to  be 
too  busy  with  the  salt  beef,  and  was  merely  looking 
up  again  for  ^  a  moment,  when  my  eye  chanced  to  catch 
on  the  ^  swinging  barometer  that  hung  in  the  raised  sky- 
light, right  over  the  midst  of  our  noise.  By  George !  ma'am, 
what  was  my  horror  when  I  saw  the  quicksilver  had  sunk  so 
far  below  the  mark,  probably  fixed  there  that  morning,  as 
to  be  almost  shrunk  in  the  ball!  Whatever  the  merchant 
service  might  know  about  the  instrument  in  those  dav«, 
the  African  coast  was  the  place  to  teach  its  right  use  to 


A  SEA  STORY  177 

us  in  the  old  'Iris.'  I  laid  down  my  knife  and  fork  as 
carelessly  as  I  could,  and  went  straight  on  deck. 

"Here  I  sought  out  the  mate,  who  was  forward,  watch- 
ing the  land — and  at  once  took  him  aside  to  tell  him  the 
fact.  'Well,  sir,'  said  he,  coolly,  'and  what  of  that?  A 
sign  of  wind,  certainly,  before  very  long;  but  in  the  mean- 
time we  're  sure  to  have  it  off  the  land.'  'That 's  one  of  the 
very  reasons,'  said  I, 'for  thinking  this  will  be  from  seaward — 
since  towards  evening  the  land '11  have  plenty  of  air  with- 
out it!  But  more  than  that,  sir,'  said  I,  *I  tell  you,  Mr. 
Finch,  I  know  the  west  coast  of  Africa  pretty  well — and 
so  far  south  as  this,  the  glass  falling  so  low  as  twenty-seven, 
is  always  the  sign  of  a  nor5 -westerly  blow !  If  yon  're  a  wise 
man,  sir,  you'll  not  only  get  your  upper  spars  on  deck, 
but  you'll  see  your  anchors  clear!'  Finch  had  plainly  got 
furious  at  my  meddling  again,  and  said  he,  'Instead  of  that, 
sir,  I  shall  hold  on  everything  aloft,  to  stand  out  when  1  get 
the  breeeze !'  'D'  ye  really  think,  then,'  said  I,  pointing  to  the 
f  arthest-off  streak  of  land,  trending  away  by  this  time  astern 
of  us,  faint  as  it  was,  'do  you  think  you  could  ever  weather 
that  point,  with  anything  like  a  strong  nor'-wester,  besides  a 
current  heading  you  in,  as  you  got  fair  hold  of  it  again?' 
'Perhaps  not,'  said  he,  wincing  a  little  as  he  glanced  at  it; 
'but  you  happen  always  to  suppose  what  there  's  a  thousand 
to  one  against,  sir.  Why,  sir,  you  might  as  well  take  the  com- 
mand at  once.  But,  sir,  if  it  did  come  to  that,  1  'd  rather — 
I  'd  rather  see  the  ship  lost — I  'd  rather  go  to  the  bottom  with 
all  in  her,  after  handling  her  as  well  as  I  know  how,  than  1  'd 
see  the  chance  given  to  you!'  The  young  fellow  fairly 
shouted  this  last  word  into  my  very  ear — he  was  in  a  regular 
furious  passion.  'You  'd  better  let  me  alone,  that 's  all  1  've 
got  to  say  to  you,  sir!'  growled  he  as  he  turned  away;  so  1 
thought  it  no  use  to  say  more,  and  leaned  over  the  bulwarks, 
resolved  to  see  it  out. 

"The  fact  was,  the  farther  we  got  off  the  land  now,  the 
•worse,  seeing  that  if  what  I  dreaded  should  prove  true,  why, 
\ve  were  probably  in  thirty  or  forty  fathoms  of  water,  where 
no  anchor  could  hold  for  ten  minutes'  time — if  it  ever  caught 
ground.  My  way  would  have  been  to  get  every  boat  out  at 
once,  and  tow  in  tOl  you  could  see  the  color  of  some  shoal  or 
other  from  aloft,  then  take  my  chance  there  to  ride  out  what- 
ever might  come,  ta  the  last  cable  aboard  of  us.  Accordingly 
I  was  n't  sorry  to  see  that  by  this  time  the  whole  bight  of  the 
coast  was  slowly  rising  off  our  beam  betwixt  the  high  land  far 
astern  and  the  broad  bluffs  upon  her  starboard  bow;  which 


i;8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

last  came  out  already  of  a  sandy  reddish  tint,  and  the  lower 
part  of  a  clear  blue,  as  the  sun  got  westward  on  our  other  side. 
What  struck  me  was,  that  the  face  of  the  water,  which  was  all 
over  wrinkles  and  winding  lines,  with  here  and  there  a  quick 
ripple,  when  I  went  below,  had  got  on  a  sudden  quite  smooth 
as  far  as  you  could,  see,  as  if  they  'd  sunk  down  like  so  many 
eels;  a  long  uneasy  ground-swell  was  beginning  to  heave  in 
from  seaward,  on  which  the  ship  rose ;  once  or  twice  I  fancied 
I  could  observe  the  color  different  away  towards  the  land, 
like  the  muddy  chocolate  spreading  out  near  a  river-mouth  at 
ebb-tide — then  again  it  was  green,  rather ;  and  as  for  the  look 
of  the  coast,  I  had  no  knowledge  of  it.  I  thought  again, 
certainly,  of  the  old  quartermaster's  account  in  the  'Iris/  but 
there  was  neither  anything  like  it  to  be  seen,  nor  any  sign  of 
a  break  in  the  coast  at  all,  though  high  headlands  enough. 

"The  ship  might  have  been  about  twelve  or  fourteen  miles 
from  the  north-east  point  upon  her  starboard  bow,  a  high 
rocky  range  of  bluffs — and  rather  less  from  the  nearest  of 
what  lay  away  off  her  beam;  but  after  this  you  could  mark 
nothing  more,  except  it  were  that  she  edged  farther  from  the 
point,  by  the  way  its  bearings  shifted  or  got  blurred  together : 
either  she  stood  still,  or  she  'd  caught  some  eddy  or  under-rif t, 
and  the  mate  walked  about  quite  lively  once  more.  The 
matter  was  how  to  breathe,  or  bear  your  clothes — when  all  of 
a  sudden  I  heard  the  second  mate  sing  out  from  the  forecastle 
— 'Stand  by  the  braces,  there!  Look  out  for  the  topes'l 
hawl-yairds !' 

"He  came  shuffling  aft  the  next  moment  as  fast  as  his 
foundered  old  shanks  could  carry  him,  and  told  Mr.  Finch 
there  was  a  squall  coming  off  the  land.  The  mate  sprang  up 
on  the  bulwarks,  and  so  did  I — catching  a  glance  from  him 
as  much  as  to  say — There  's  your  gale  from  seaward,  you  pre- 
tentious lubber!  The  lowest  streak  of  coast  bore  at  present 
before  our  starboard  quarter,  betwixt  east  and  south-east'ard, 
with  some  pretty  high  land  running  away  up  from  it,  and  a 
sort  of  dim  blue  haze  hanging  beyond,  as  't  were.  Just  as 
Macleod  spoke,  I  could  see  a  dusky  dark  vapor  thickening 
and  spreading  in  the  haze,  till  it.  rose  black  along  the  flat,  out 
of  the  sky  behind  it ;  whitened  and  then  darkened  again,  like 
a  heavy  smoke  floating  up  into  the  air.  All  was  confusion  on 
deck  for  a  minute  or  two — off  went  all  the  awnings — and 
every  hand  was  ready  at  his  station,  fisting  the  ropes ;  when  I 
looked  again  at  the  cloud,  then  at  the  mates.  'By  George!' 
said  I,  noticing  a  pale  wreath  of  it  go  curling  on  the  pale  clear 


A  SEA  STORY  179 

sky  over  it,  as  if  to  a  puff  of  air,  'it  is  smoke !  Some  niggers, 
as  they  so  often  do,  burning  the  bush!' 

"So  it  was ;  and  as  soon  as  Finch  gave  in,  all  hands  quietly 
coiled  up  the  ropes.  It  was  scarce  five  minutes  after,  that 
Jacobs,  who  was  coiling  up  a  rope  beside  me,  gave  me  a  quiet 
touch  with  one  finger.  'Mr.  Collins,  sir,'  said  he  in  a  low 
voice,  looking  almost  right  up,  high  over  toward  the  ship's 
larboard  bow,  which  he  couldn't  have  done  before,  for  the 
awnings  so  lately  above  us,  'look,  sir — there's  an  ox-eye!'  1 
followed  his  gaze,  but  it  was  n't  for  a  few  seconds  that  i  found 
what  it  pointed  to,  in  the  hot  far-off-like  blue  dimness  of  the 
sky  overhead,  compared  with  the  white  glare  of  which  to 
westward  our  canvas  aloft  was  but  dirty  gray  and  yellow. 

"  'T  was  what  none  but  a  seaman  would  have  observed,  and 
many  a  seaman  would  n't  have  done  so — but  a  man-o'-war's- 
man  is  used  to  look  out  at  all  hours,  in  all  latitudes — and  to  a 
man  that  knew  its  meaning,  this  would  have  been  no  joke, 
even  out  of  sight  of  land;  as  it  was,  the  thing  gave  me  a 
perfect  thrill  of  dread.  High  aloft  in  the  heavens  northward, 
where  they  were  freest  from  the  sun — now  standing  over  the 
open  horizon  amidst  a  wide  bright  pool  of  light — you  managed 
to  discern  a  small  silvery  speck,  growing  slowly  as  it  were 
out  of  the  faint  blue  hollow,  like  a  star  in  the  daytime,  till 
you  felt  as  if  it  looked  at  you,  from  God  knows  what  distance 
away.  One  eye  after  another  amongst  the  mates  and  crew 
joined  Jacobs'  and  mine,  with  the  same  sort  of  dumb  fellow- 
ship to  be  seen  when  a  man  in  London  streets  watches  the  top 
of  a  steeple;  and  however  hard  to  make  out  at  first,  ere  long 
none  of  them  could  miss  seeing  it,  as  it  got  slowly  larger, 
sinking  by  degrees  till  the  sky  close  about  it  seemed  to 
thicken  like  a  dusky  ring  round  the  white,  and  the  sunlight 
upon  our  seaward  quarter  blazed  out  doubly  strong — as  if  it 
came  dazzling  off  a  brass  bell,  with  the  bright  tongue 
swinging  in  it  far  off  to  one  side,  where  the  hush  made  you 
think  of  a  stroke  back  upon  us,  with  some  terrific  sound  to 
boot. 

"The  glassy  water  by  this  time  was  beginning  to  rise 
under  the  ship  with  a  struggling  kind  of  unequal  heave,  as  if 
a  giant  you  could  n't  see  kept  shoving  it  down  here  and  there 
with  both  hands,  and  it  came  swelling  up  elsewhere. 

"To  north-westward  or  thereabouts,  betwixt  the  sun  and 
this  ill-boding  token  aloft,  the  far  line  of  open  sea  still  lay 
shining  motionless  and  smooth ;  next  time  you  looked,  it  had 
got  even  brighter  than  before,  seeming  to  leave  the  horizon 
visibly;  then  the  streak  of  air  just  above  it  had  grown  gray, 


i8o  THE  GREEN   HAND 

and  a  long  hedge  of  hazy  vapor  was  creeping  as  it  were  over 
from  beyond — the  white  speck  all  the  while  travelling  clown 
towards  it  slantwise  from  nor'ard,  and  spreading  its  dark  ring 
slowly  out  into  a  circle  of  cloud,  till  the  keen  eye  of  it  at  last 
sank  in,  and  below,  as  well  as  aloft,  the  whole  north-western 
quarter  got  blurred  together  in  one  gloomy  mass.  If  there 
was  a  question  at  first  whether  the  wind  might  n't  come  from 
so  far  nor'ard  as  to  give  her  a  chance  of  running  out  to  sea 
before  it,  there  was  none  now — our  sole  recourse  lay  either  in 
getting  nearer  the  land  meanwhile,  to  let  go  our  anchors  ere 
it  came  on,  with  her  head  to  it — or  we  might  make  a  desperate 
trial  to  weather  the  lee-point  now  far  astern.  The  fact  was, 
we  were  going  to  have  a  regular  tornado,  and  that  of  the 
worst  kind,  which  would  n't  soon  blow  itself  out ;  though  near 
an  hour's  notice  would  probably  pass  ere  it  was  on. 

"The  three  mates  laid  their  heads  gravely  together  over 
the  capstan  for  a  minute  or  two,  after  which  Finch  seemed  to 
perceive  that  the  first  of  the  two  ways  was  the  safest ;  though 
of  course  the  nearer  we  should  get  to  the  land,  the  less  chance 
there  was  of  clearing  it  afterwards,  should  her  cables  part,  or 
the  anchors  drag.  The  two  boats  still  alongside,  and  two 
others  dropped  from  the  davits,  were  manned  at  once  and  set 
to  towing  the  Indiaman  ahead,  in-shore ;  while  the  bower  and 
sheet  anchors  were  got  out  to  the  catheads  ready  for  letting 
go,  cables  overhauled,  ranged,  and  clinched  as  quickly  as 
possible,  and  the  deep-sea  lead  passed  along  to  take  soundings 
every  few  minutes. 

"On  we  crept,  slow  as  death,  and  almost  as  still,  except 
the  jerk  of  the  oars  from  the  heaving  water  at  her  bows,  and 
the  loud  flap  of  the  big  topsails  now  and  then,  everything 
aloft  save  them  and  the  brailed  foresail  being  already  close 
furled ;  the  clouds  all  the  while  rising  away  along  our  larboard 
beam  nor'-west  and  north,  over  the  gray  bank  on  the  horizon, 
till  once  more  you  could  scarce  say  which  point  the  wind 
would  come  from,  unless  by  the  huge  purple  heap  of  vapor 
in  the  midst.  The  sun  had  got  low,  and  he  shivered  his 
dazzling  spokes  of  light  behind  one  edge  of  it,  as  if  't  were  a 
mountain  you  saw  over  some  coast  or  other;  indeed,  you'd 
have  thought  the  ship  almost  shut  in  by  land  on  both  sides  of 
her,  which  was  what  seemed  to  terrify  the  passengers  most, 
as  they  gathered  about  the  poop-stairs  and  watched  it — which 
was  the  true  land  and  which  the  clouds,  't  was  hard  to  say — 
and  the  sea  gloomed  writhing  between  them  like  a  huge  lake 
in  the  mountains. 

"I  saw   Sir   Charles  Hyde  walk  out   of  the  round-house 


A  SEA  STORY  181 

and  in  again,  glancing  uneasily  about;  his  daughter  was 
standing  with  another  young  iady,  gazing  at  the  land;  and 
at  sight  of  her  sweet,  curious  face,  I'd  have  given  worlds 
to  be  able  to  do  something  that  might  save  it  from  the 
chance,  possibly,  of  being  that  very  night  dashed  amongst 
the  breakers  on  a  lee-shore  in  the  dark — or  at  best,  sup- 
pose the  Almighty  favored  any  of  us  so  far,  perhaps  landed 
in  the  wilds  of  Africa.  Had  there  been  aught  man  could 
do  more,  why,  though  I  never  should  get  a  smile  for  it, 
I  'd  have  compassed  it,  mate  or  no  mate ;  but  all  was  done  that 
could  be  done,  and  I  had  nothing  to  say.  Westwood  came 
near  her,  too,  apparently  seeing  our  bad  case  at  last  to  some 
extent,  and  both  trying  to  break  it  to  her  and  to  assure  her 
mind;  so  I  folded  my  arms  again,  and  kept  my  eyes  hard 
fixed  upon  the  bank  of  cloud,  as  some  new  weather-mark  stole 
out  in  it,  and  the  sea  stretched  breathless  away  below,  like 
new  melted  lead. 

"The  air  was  like  to  choke  you — or  rather  there  was  none 
— as  if  water,  sky,  and  everything  else  wanted  life,  and  one 
would  fain  have  caught  the  first  rush  of  the  tornado  into  his 
mouth — the  men  emptying  the  dipper  on  deck  from  the  cask, 
from  sheer  loathing.  As  for  the  land,  it  seemed  to  draw 
nearer  of  itself,  till  every  point  and  wrinkle  in  the  headland 
off  our  bow  came  out  in  a  red  coppery  gieam — one  saw  the 
white  line  of  surf  round  it,  and  some  blue  country  beyond  like 
indigo ;  then  back  it  darkened  again,  and  all  aloft  was  getting 
livid-like  over  the  bare  royal  mastheads. 

"Suddenly  a  faint  air  was  felt  to  flutter  from  landward; 
it  half  lifted  the  topsails,  and  a  heavy  earthy  smell  came  into 
your  nostrils — the  first  of  the  land-breeze,  at  last ;  but  by  this 
time  it  was  no  more  than  a  sort  of  mockery,  while  a  minute 
after  you  might  catch  a  low,  sullen,  moaning  sound  far  off 
through  the  emptiness,  from  the  strong  surf  the  Atlantic 
sends  in  upon  the  West  Coast  before  a  squall.  If  ever  lands- 
men found  out  what  land  on  the  wrong  side  is,  the  passengers 
of  the  'Seringapatam'  did,  that  moment;  the  shudder  of  the 
topsails  aloft  seemed  to  pass  into  every  one's  shoulders,  and  a 
few  quietly  walked  below,  as  if  they  were  safe  in  their  cabins. 
I  saw  Violet  Hyde  look  round  and  round  with  a  startled 
expression,  and  from  one  face  to  another,  till  her  eye  lighted 
on  me,  and  I  fancied  for  a  moment  it  was  like  putting  some 
question  to  me.  I  could  n't  bear  it ! — 't  was  the  first  time  I  'd 
felt  powerless  to  offer  anything;  though  the  thought  ran 
through  me  again  till  I  almost  felt  myself  buffeting  among 
the  breakers  with  her  in  my  arms.  I  looked  to  the  land, 


i82  THE  GREEN  HAND 

where  the  smoke  we  had  seen  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ago, 
rose  again  with  the  puff  of  air,  a  slight  nicker  of  name  in  it, 
as  it  wreathed  off  the  low  ground  toward  the  higher  point — 
when  all  at  once  I  gave  a  start,  for  something  in  the  shape  of 
the  whole  struck  me  as  if  I  'd  seen  it  before. 

"Next  moment  I  was  thinking  of  old  Bob  Martin's  par- 
ticular landmarks  at  the  river-mouth  he  spoke  of,  and  the 
notion  of  its  possibly  being  hereabouts  glanced  on  me  like  a 
godsend.  In  the  unsure  dusky  sight  I  had  of  it,  certainly, 
it  wore  somewhat  of  that  look,  and  it  lay  fair  to  leeward  of 
the  weather;  while,  as  for  the  dead  shut-in  appearance  of  it, 
old  Bob  had  specially  said  you  'd  never  think  it  was  a  river ; 
but  then  again  it  was  more  like  a  desperate  fancy  owing  to 
our  hard  case,  and  to  run  the  ship  straight  for  it  would  be 
the  trick  of  a  bedlamite.  At  any  rate  a  quick  cry  from  aft 
turned  me  round,  and  I  saw  a  blue  flare  of  lightning  streak 
out  betwixt  the  bank  of  gray  haze  and  the  cloud  that  hung 
over  it — then  another,  and  the  clouds  were  beginning  to  rise 
slowly  in  the  midst,  leaving  a  white  glare  between,  as  if  you 
could  see  through  it  towards  what  was  coming.  The  men  could 
pull  no  longer,  but  ahead  of  the  ship  there  was  now  only  about 
eight  or  ten  fathoms  water,  with  a  soft  bottom.  The  boats 
were  hoisted  in,  and  the  men  had  begun  to  clew  up  and  hand 
the  topsails,  which  were  lowered  on  the  caps,  when,  just  in 
the  midst  of  the  hubbub  and  confusion,  as  I  stood  listening  to 
every  order  the  mate  gave,  the  steward  came  up  hastily  from 
below  to  tell  him  that  the  captain  had  woke  up,  and,  being 
much  better,  wanted  to  see  him  immediately.  Mr.  Finch 
looked  surprised,  but  he  turned  at  once,  and  hurried  down  the 
hatchway. 

"The  sight  which  all  of  us  who  were  n't  busy  gazed  upon, 
over  the  larboard  bulwarks,  was  terrible  to  see :  't  was  half 
dark,  though  the  sun,  dropping  behind  the  haze-bank,  made 
it  glimmer  and  redden.  The  dark  heap  of  clouds  had  first 
lengthened  out  blacker  and  blacker,  and  was  rising  slowly  in 
the  sky  like  a  mighty  arch,  till  you  saw  the  white  edges 
below,  and  a  ghastly  white  space  behind,  out  of  which  the 
mist  and  scud  began  to  fly.  Next  minute  a  long  sigh  came 
into  her  jib  and  foresail,  then  the  black  bow  of  cloud  partly 
sank  again,  and  a  blaze  of  lightning  came  out  all  round  her, 
showing  you  every  face  on  deck,  the  inside  of  the  round-house 
aft,  with  the  Indian  Judge  standing  in  it,  his  hand  to  his  eyes 
— and  the  land  far  away,  to  the  very  swell  rolling  in  to  it. 
Then  the  thunder  broke  overhead  in  the  gloom,  in  one  fearful 
sudden  crack,  that  you  seemed  to  hear  through  every  corner 


A  SEA  STORY  183 

of  cabins  and  forecastle  below — and  the  wet  back-fins  of 
twenty  sharks  or  so,  that  had  risen  out  of  the  inky  surface, 
vanished  as  suddenly. 

"The  Indiaman  had  sheered  almost  broadside  on  to  the 
clouds,  her  jib  was  still  up,  and  I  knew  the  next  time  the 
clouds  rose  we  should  fairly  have  it.  Flash  after  flash  came, 
and  clap  after  clap  of  thunder,  such  as  you  hear  before  a 
tornado — yet  the  chief  officer  was  n't  to  be  seen,  and  the 
others  seemed  uncertain  what  to  do  first;  while  every  one 
began  to  wonder  and  pass  along  questions  where  he  could  be. 
In  fact  he  had  disappeared.  For  my  part,  I  thought  it  very 
strange  he  stayed  so  long ;  but  there  was  n't  a  moment  to 
lose.  I  jumped  down  off  the  poop-stairs,  walked  forward  on 
the  quarter-deck,  and  said  coolly  to  the  men  nearest  me, 
'Run  and  haul  down  that  jib  yonder — set  the  spanker  here, 
aft.  You  '11  have  her  taken  slap  on  her  beam :  quick,  my 
lads !'  The  men  did  so  at  once.  Macleod  was  calling  out 
anxiously  for  Mr.  Finch.  'Stand  by  the  anchors  there!'  1 
sang  out,  'to  let  go  the  starboard  one,  the  moment  she  swings 
head  to  wind!'  The  Scotch  mate  turned  his  head;  but 
Rickett's  face,  by  the  next  flash,  showed  he  saw  the  good  of 
it,  and  there  was  no  leisure  for  arguing,  especially  as  I  spoke 
in  a  way  to  be  heard.  I  walked  to  the  wheel,  and  got  hold  of 
Jacobs  to  take  the  weather  helm. 

"We  were  all  standing  ready,  at  the  pitch  of  expecting  it. 
Westwood,  too,  having  appeared  again  by  this  time  beside 
me,  I  whispered  to  him  to  run  forward  and  look  after  the 
anchors — when  some  one  came  hastily  up  the  after-hatchway, 
with  a  glazed  hat  and  pilot-coat  on,  stepped  straight  to  the 
binnacle,  looked  in  behind  me,  then  at  the  black  bank  of 
cloud,  then  aloft.  Of  course  I  supposed  it  was  the  mate 
again,  but  did  n't  trouble  myself  to  glance  at  him  further — 
when  'Hold  on  with  the  anchors !'  he  sang  out  in  a  loud 
voice — 'hold  on  there  for  your  lives!'  Heavens!  it  was  the 
captain  himself! 

"At  this,  of  course,  I  stood  aside  at  once;  and  he  shouted 
again,  'Hoist  the  jib  and  fore-topmast-staysail — stand  by  to 
set  fore-course!'  By  Jove!  this  was  the  way  to  pay  the  ship 
head  off,  instead  of  stern  off,  from  the  blast  when  it  came — 
and  to  let  her  drive  before  it  at  no  trifle  of  a  rate,  wherever 
that  might  take  her !  'Down  with  that  spanker,  Mr.  Macleod, 
d'  ye  hear !'  roared  Captain  Williamson  again ;  and  certainly 
I  did  wonder  what  he  meant  to  do  with  the  ship.  But  his 
manner  was  so  decided,  and  't  was  so  natural  for  the  captain 
to  strain  a  point  to  come  on  deck  in  the  circumstances,  that  1 


1 84  THE  GREEN  HAND 

saw  he  must  have  some  trick  of  seamanship  above  me,  or  some 
special  knowledge  of  the  coast — and  I  waited  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  excitement  for  the  first  stroke  of  the  tornado.  He 
waved  the  second  and  third  mates  forward  to  their  posts — the 
Indiaman  sheering  and  backing,  like  a  frightened  horse,  to 
the  long  slight  swell  and  the  faint  flaw  of  the  land-air.  The 
black  arch  to  windward  began  to  rise  again,  showing  a  terrible 
white  stare  reaching  deep  in,  and  a  blue  dart  of  lightning 
actually  ran  zigzag  down  before  our  glaring  fore-to'gallant- 
mast.  Suddenly  the  captain  had  looked  at  me,  and  we 
faced  each  other  by  the  gleam;  and,  quiet,  easy-going  man 
as  he  was  commonly,  it  just  flashed  across  me  there  was 
something  extraordinarily  wild  and  raised  in  his  pale  visage, 
strange  as  the  air  about  us  made  every  one  appear.  He  gave 

a   stride    towards    me,    shouting,    'Who    are '    when    the 

thunder-clap  took  the  words  out  of  his  tongue,  and  next 
moment  the  tornado  burst  upon  us,  fierce  as  the  wind  from  a 
cannon's  mouth. 

"For  one  minute  the  'Seringapatam'  heeled  over  to  her 
starboard  streak,  almost  broadside  on,  and  her  spars  towards 
the  land — all  on  her  beam  was  a  long,  ragged,  white  gush  ofc" 
light  and  mist  pouring  out  under  the  black  brow  of  the  clouds, 
with  a  trampling  eddying  roar  up  into  the  sky.  The  swell 
plunged  over  her  weather-side  like  the  first  break  of  a  dam, 
and  as  we  scrambled  up  to  the  bulwarks,  to  hold  on  for  bare 
life,  you  saw  a  roller  fit  to  swamp  us,  coming  on  out  of  the 
sheet  of  foam — when  crash  went  mizzen-topmast  and  main- 
to'gallant-mast ;  the  ship  payed  swiftly  off  by  help  of  her 
head-sails,  and,  with  a  leap  like  a  harpooned  whale,  off  she 
drove  fair  before  the  tremendous  sweep  of  the  blast. 

"The  least  yaw  in  her  course,  and  she  'd  have  never  risen, 
unless  every  stick  went  out  of  her.  I  laid  my  shoulder  to  the 
wheel  with  Jacobs,  and  Captain  Williamson  screamed  through 
his  trumpet  into  the  men's  ears,  and  waved  his  hands  to  ride 
down  the  fore-sheets  as  far  as  they  'd  go ;  which  kept  her  right 
before  it,  though  the  sail  could  be  but  half  set,  and  she  rather 
flew  than  ran — the  sea  one  breadth  of  white  foam  back  to  the 
gushes  of  mist,  not  having  power  to  rise  higher  yet.  Had  the 
foresail  been  stretched,  't  would  have  blown  off  like  a  cloud.  1 
looked  at  the  captain :  he  was  standing  in  the  lee  of  the  round- 
house, straight  upright,  though  now  and  then  peering  eagerly 
forward,  his  lips  firm,  one  hand  on  a  belaying-pin,  the  other  in 
his  breast — nothing  but  determination  in  his  manner :  yet 
once  or  twice  he  started,  and  glanced  fiercely  to  the  after- 
hatchway  near,  as  if  something  from  below  might  chance  to 


A  SEA  STORY  185 

thwart  him.  I  can't  express  my  contrary  feelings,  betwixt  a 
sort  of  hope  and  sheer  horror.  We  were  driving  right  towards 
the  land,  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  knots  to  the  hour — yet  could 
there  actually  be  some  harborage  hereaway,  or  that  said 
river  the  quartermaster  of  the  'Iris'  mentioned,  and  Captain 
Williamson  know  of  it  ? 

"Something  struck  me  as  wonderfully  strange  in  the 
whole  matter,  and  puzzling  to  desperation — still  I  trusted  to 
the  captain's  experience.  The  coast  was  scarce  to  be  seen 
ahead  of  us,  lying  black  against  an  uneven  streak  of  glimmer, 
as  she  rushed  like  fury  before  the  deafening  howl  of  wind; 
and  right  away  before  our  lee-beam  I  could  see  the  light  blow- 
ing, as  it  were,  across  beyond  the  headland  I  had  noticed, 
where  the  smoke  in  the  bush  seemed  to  be  still  curling,  half- 
smothered,  along  the  flat  in  the  lee  of  the  hills,  as  if  in  green 
wood,  or  sheltered  as  yet  from  seaward,  though  once  or  twice 
a  quick  flicker  burst  up  in  it. 

"All  at  once  the  gust  of  the  tornado  was  seen  to  pour  on  it 
like  a  long  blast  from  some  huge  bellows,  and  up  it  flashed — 
the  yellow  flame  blazed  into  the  smoke,  spread  away  behind 
the  point,  and  the  ruddy  brown  smoke  blew  whitening  over  it: 
— when,  Almighty  power !  what  did  I  see  as  it  lengthened  in, 
but  part  after  part  of  old  Bob's  landmarks  creep  out  ink-black 
before  the  flare  and  the  streak  of  sky  together — first  the  low 
line  of  ground,  then  the  notch  in  the  block,  the  two  rocks  like 
steps,  and  the  sugar-loaf  shape  of  the  headland,  to  the  very 
mop-headed  knot  of  trees  on  its  rise!  No  doubt  Captain 
Williamson  was  steering  for  it ;  but  it  was  far  too  much  on  our 
starboard  bow — and  in  half  an  hour  at  this  rate  we  should 
drive  right  into  the  surf  you  saw  running  along  to  the  coast 
ahead — so  I  signed  to  Jacobs  for  God's  sake  to  edge  her  off  as 
nicely  as  was  possible. 

"Captain  Williamson  caught  my  motion.  'Port!  port, 
sirrah !'  he  sang  out  sternly ;  'back  with  the  helm,  d'  ye  hear  I' 
and  pulling  out  a  pistol,  he  levelled  it  at  me  with  one  hand, 
while  he  held  a  second  in  the  other.  'Land ! — land !'  shouted 
he,  and  from  the  lee  of  the  round-house  it  came  more  like  a 
shriek  than  a  shout — 'I  'II  be  there  though  a  thousand  muti- 
neers—  His  eye  was  like  a  wild  beast's.  That  moment 
the  truth  glanced  across  me — this  was  the  green  leaf,  no  doubt, 
the  Scotch  mate  talked  so  mysteriously  of.  The  man  was 
mad !  The  land-fever  was  upon  him,  as  I  'd  seen  it  before  in 
men  long  off  the  African  coast;  and  he  stood  eying  me  with 
one  foot  hard  stamped  before  him.  'T  was  no  use  trying  to 
be  heard,  and  the  desperation  of  the  moment  gave  me  a 


i86  THE  GREEN  HAND 

thought  of  the  sole  thing  to  do.  I  took  off  my  hat  in  the 
light  of  the  binnacle,  bowed,  and  looked  him  straight  in  the 
face  with  a  smile — when  his  eye  wavered,  he  slowly  lowered 
his  pistol,  then  laughed,  waving  his  hand  towards  the  land  to 
leeward,  as  if,  but  for  the  gale,  you  'd  have  heard  him  cheer. 
At  the  instant  I  sprang  behind  him  with  the  slack  of  a  rope, 
and  grappled  his  arms  fast,  though  he  'd  got  the  furious  power 
of  a  madman,  and,  during  half  a  minute,  't  was  wrestle  for  life 
with  me.  But  the  line  was  round  him,  arm  and  leg,  and  i 
made  it  fast,  throwing  him  heavily  on  the  deck,  just  as  one  of 
the  mates,  with  some  of  the  crew,  were  struggling  aft,  by  help 
of  the  belaying-pins,  against  the  hurricane,  having  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  thing  by  the  binnacle-light.  They  looked  from 
me  to  the  captain.  The  ugly  topman  made  a  sign,  as  much 
as  to  say,  Knock  the  fellow  down ;  but  the  whole  lot  hung  back 
before  the  couple  of  pistol-barrels  I  handled.  The  Scotch 
mate  seemed  awfully  puzzled;  and  others  of  the  men,  who 
knew  from  Jacobs  what  I  was,  came  shoving  along,  evidently 
aware  what  a  case  we  were  in. 

"A  word  to  Jacobs  served  to  keep  him  steering  her 
anxiously,  so  as  to  head  two  or  three  points  more  south-east  in 
the  end,  furiously  as  the  wheel  jolted.  So  there  we  stood,  the 
tornado  sweeping  sharp  as  a  knife  from  astern  over  the  poop- 
deck,  with  a  force  that  threw  anyone  back  if  he  let  go  his 
hold  to  get  near  me,  and  going  up  like  thunder  aloft  in  the 
sky.  Now  and  then  a  weaker  flare  of  lightning  glittered 
across  the  scud;  and,  black  as  it  was  overhead,  the  horizon  to 
windward  was  but  one  jagged  white  glare,  gushing  full  of 
broad  shifting  streaks  through  the  drift  of  foam  and  the  spray 
that  strove  to  rise.  Our  fore-course  still  held :  and  I  took  the 
helm  from  Jacobs,  that  he  might  go  and  manage  to  get  a  pull 
taken  on  the  starboard  brace,  which  would  not  only  slant  the 
sail  more  to  the  blasts,  but  give  her  the  better  chance  to 
make  the  sole  point  of  salvation,  by  helping  her  steerage 
when  most  needed.  Jacobs  and  Westwood  together  got  this 
done ;  and  all  the  time  I  was  keeping  my  eyes  fixed  anxiously, 
as  man  can  fancy,  on  the  last  gleams  of  the  fire  ashore,  as  her 
head  made  a  fairer  line  with  it;  but,  by  little  and  little,  it 
went  quite  out,  and  all  was  black — though  I  had  taken  its 
bearings  by  the  compass — and  I  kept  her  to  that  for  bare  life, 
trembling  at  every  shiver  in  the  foresail's  edge,  lest  either  it 
or  the  mast  should  go. 

"Suddenly  we  began  to  get  into  a  fearful  swell — the  India- 
man  plunged  and  shook  in  every  spar  left  her.  I  could  see 
nothing  ahead,  from  the  wheel,  and  in  the  dark;  we  were 


A  SEA  STORY  187 

getting  close  in  with  the  land,  and  the  time  was  coming;  but 
still  I  held  south-east-by-east  to  the  mark  of  her  head  in  the 
compass-box,  as  nearly  as  might  and  main  could  do  it,  for  the 
heaves  that  made  me  think  once  or  twice  she  was  to  strike 
next  moment. 

"If  she  went  ashore  in  my  hands!  why,  it  was  like  to 
drive  one  mad  with  fear;  and  I  waited  for  Jacobs  to  come 
back,  with  a  brain  ready  to  turn,  almost  as  if  I  'd  have  left  the 
wheel  to  the  other  helmsman,  and  run  forward  into  the  bows 
to  look  out.  The  captain  lay  raving  and  shouting  behind  me, 
though  no  one  else  could  either  have  heard  or  seen  him;  and 
where  the  chief  officer  was  all  this  time  surprised  me,  unless 
the  madman  had  made  away  with  him,  or  locked  him  in  his 
own  cabin,  in  return  for  being  shut  up  himself — which  in  fact 
proved  to  be  the  case,  cunning  as  it  was  to  send  for  him  so 
quietly.  At  length  Jacobs  struggled  aft  to  me  again,  and 
charging  him,  for  Heaven's  sake,  to  steer  exactly  the  course  I 
gave,  I  drove  before  the  full  strength  of  the  squall  along 
decks  to  the  bowsprit,  where  I  held  on  and  peered  out.  Dead 
ahead  of  us  was  the  high  line  of  coast  in  the  dark — not  a  mile 
of  swell  between  the  ship  and  it.  By  this  time  the  low  boom 
of  the  surf  came  under  the  wind,  and  you  saw  the  breakers 
lifting  all  along — not  a  single  opening  in  them!  I  had  lost 
sight  of  my  landmarks,  and  my  heart  gulped  into  my  mouth 
— what  I  felt  't  would  be  vain  to  say — till  I  thought  I  did 
make  out  one  short  patch  of  sheer  black  in  the  range  of  foam, 
scarce  so  far  on  our  bow  as  I  'd  reckoned  the  fire  to  have  been ; 
indeed,  instead  of  that,  it  was  rather  on  her  weather  than  her 
lee  bow;  and  the  more  I  watched  it,  and  the  nearer  we  drove 
in  that  five  minutes,  the  broader  it  was.  'By  all  that 's  good !' 
I  thought,  'if  a  river  there  is,  that  must  be  the  mouth  of 
it !'  But,  by  heavens !  on  our  present  course,  the  ship 
would  run  just  right  upon  the  point — and,  to  strike  the  clear 
water,  her  foreyard  would  require  to  be  braced  up,  able  or 
not,  though  the  force  of  the  tornado  would  come  fearfully  on 
her  quarter,  then.  There  was  the  chance  of  taking  all  the 
masts  out  of  her;  but  let  them  stand  ten  minutes,  and  the 
thing  was  done,  when  we  opened  into  the  lee  of  the  points — 
otherwise  all  was  over. 

"I  sprang  to  the  fore-braces  and  besought  the  men  near 
me,  for  God's  sake,  to  drag  upon  the  lee  one — and  that  as  if 
their  life  hung  upon  it — when  Westwood  caught  me  by  the 
arm.  I  merely  shouted  through  my  hands  into  his  ear  to  go 
aft  to  Jacobs  and  tell  him  to  keep  her  head  a  single  point  up, 
whatever  might  happen,  to  the  last — then  I  pulled  with  the 


188  THE  GREEN  HAND 

men  at  the  brace  till  it  was  fast,  and  scrambled  up  again  to 
the  bowsprit  heel.  Jove!  how  she  surged  to  it:  the  little 
canvas  we  had  strained  like  to  burst;  the  masts  trembled, 
and  the  spars  aloft  bent  like  whip-shafts,  everything  below 
groaning  again;  while  the  swell  and  the  blast  together  made 
you  dizzy,  as  you  watched  the  white  eddies  rising  and  boiling 
out  of  the  dark — her  cut-water  shearing  through  it  and  the 
foam,  as  if  you  were  going  under  it.  The  sound  of  the 
hurricane  and  the  surf  seemed  to  be  growing  together  into 
one  awful  roar — my  very  brain  began  to  turn  with  the  pitch  I 
was  wrought  up  to — and  it  appeared  next  moment  we  should 
heave  far  up  into  the  savage  hubbub  of  breakers.  I  was 
wearying  for  the  crash  and  the  wild  confusion  that  would 
follow — when  all  of  a  sudden,  still  catching  the  fierce  rush 
of  the  gale  athwart  her  quarter  into  the  fore-course,  which 
steadied  her  though  she  shuddered  to  it — all  on  a  sudden  the 
dark  mass  of  the  land  seemed  as  it  were  parting  ahead  of  her, 
and  a  gleam  of  pale  sky  opened  below  the  dusk  into  my  very 
face.  I  no  more  knew  what  I  was  doing,  by  this  time,  nor 
where  we  were,  than  the  spar  before  me — till  again,  the  light 
broadened,  glimmering  low  betwixt  the  high  land  and  a  lump 
of  rising  level  on  the  other  bow. 

"I  hurried  aft  past  the  confused  knots  of  men  holding  on 
to  the  lee  of  the  bulwarks,  and  seized  a  spoke  of  the  wheel. 
'Tom,'  shouted  I  to  Westwood,  'run  and  let  free  the  spanker 
on  the  poop !  Down  with  the  helm — down  with  it,  Jacobs,  my 
lad!'  I  sang  out;  'never  mind  spars  or  canvas!'  Down  went 
the  helm — the  spanker  helped  to  luff  her  to  the  strength  of 
the  gust — and  away  she  went  up  to  port,  the  heavy  swells 
rolling  her  in,  while  the  rush  into  her  staysail  and  fore-course 
came  in  one  terrible  flash  of  roaring  wind — tearing  first  one 
and  then  the  other  clear  out  of  the  bolt-ropes,  though  the 
loose  spanker  abaft  was  in  less  danger,  and  the  way  she  had 
from  both  was  enough  to  take  her  careening  round  the  point 
into  its  lee.  By  heavens!  there  were  the  streaks  of  soft  haze 
low  over  the  rising  moon,  under  the  broken  clouds,  beyond  a 
far  line  of  dim  fringy  woods,  she  herself  just  tipping  the 
hollow  behind,  big  and  red — when  right  down  from  over  the 
cloud  above  us  came  a  spout  of  rain,  then  a  sheet  of  it  lifting 
to  the  blast  as  it  howled  across  the  point.  'Stand  by  to  let 
go  the  larboard  anchor!'  I  sang  out  through  the  trumpet; 
and  Jacobs  put  the  helm  fully  down  at  the  moment,  till  she 
was  coming  head  to  wind,  when  I  made  forward  to  the  mates 
and  men.  'Let — go!'  I  shouted;  not  a  look  turned  against 
me,  arid  awaj'  thundered  the  cable  through  the  hawse-hole; 


A  SEA  STORY  189 

she  shook  to  it,  sheered  astern,  and  brought  up  with  her 
anchor  fast.  By  that  time  the  rain  was  plashing  down  in 
a  perfect  deluge — you  could  n't  see  a  yard  from  you — all  was 
one  white  pour  of  it;  although  it  soon  began  to  drive 
again  over  the  headland,  as  the  tornado  gathered  new  food 
out  of  it.  Another  anchor  was  let  go,  cable  payed  out,  and 
the  ship  soon  began  to  swing  the  other  way  to  the  tide, 
pitching  all  the  while  on  the  short  swell. 

"The  gale  still  whistled  her  spars  for  two  or  three  hours, 
during  which  it  began  by  degrees  to  lull.  About  eleven 
o'clock  it  was  clear  moonlight  to  leeward,  the  air  fresh  and 
cool:  a  delicious  watch  it  was,  too.  I  was  walking  the  poop 
by  myself,  two  or  three  men  lounging  sleepily  about  the  fore- 
castle, and  Rickett  below  on  the  quarter-deck,  when  1  saw 
the  chief  officer  himself  rush  up  from  below,  staring  wildly 
round  him,  as  if  he  thought  we  were  in  some  dream  or 
other.  I  fancied  at  first  the  mate  would  have  struck  Kickett, 
from  the  way  he  went  on,  but  I  kept  aft  where  I  was.  The 
eddies  ran  past  the  Indiaman's  side,  and  you  heard  the  fast 
ebb  of  the  tide  rushing  and  rippling  sweetly  on  her  taut 
cables  ahead,  plashing  about  the  bows  and  bends.  We 
were  in  old  Bob  Martin's  river,  whatever  that  might  be. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

"WELL,"  continued  the  commander,  his  voice  making  use 
of  the  breeze  as  he  stood  aft  of  the  group,  "I  could  not  have 
slept  more  than  three  or  four  hours  on  a  stretch,  when  1 
was  woke  by  a  fellow  shoving  his  lantern  in  my  face,  and 
saying  it  was  n't  me  he  wanted ;  for  which  I  gave  him  a 
hearty  objurgation,  and  turned  over  a  swing  of  the  cot  to 
go  asleep  again.  The  sailor  grumbled  something  about  the 
parson  being  wanted  for  the  captain,  and  all  at  once  it 
flashed  on  my  mind  where  we  were,  with  the  whole  of  last 
night's  ticklish  work — seeing  that,  hard  rub  as  it  was,  it  had 
clean  left  me  for  a  time.  'Try  the  aftermost  berth,  then,' 
said  I,  slipping  out  in  the  dark  to  put  on  my  trousers. 

"The  fact  was,  on  going  below  to  our  stateroom,  1  had 
found  my  own  cot  taken  up  by  some  one  in  the  confusion; 
and  as  every  door  stood  open  at  night  in  that  latitude,  1 
e'en  made  free  with  the  nearest,  which  I  knew  was  the 
missionary's.  In  a  minute  or  two  I  heard  Westwood  meet 


i9o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  mate,  who  said  he  thought  the  captain  would  like  to 
see  him,  and  hoped  they  had  n't  'disturbed  the  other  gentle- 
man.' 'Oh  no,  I  dare  say  not,'  said  Westwood,  rather 
nervously,  guessing,  I  dare  say,  what  he  was  wanted  for; 
while  Finch  slipped  quietly  past  to  listen  at  the  stateroom 
door,  where  both  he  and  I  might  hear  the  'other  gentleman,' 
whoever  he  was,  snoring  pretty  plain. 

"When  the  first  officer  shut  the  door  to,  however,  turned 
the  key,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket,  I  nearly  gave  vent  to 
a  whistle.  'I  see !'  thought  I ;  'but,  my  fine  fellow,  it  seemed 
you  never  were  meant  for  a  good  jailer,  anyhow!'  He  was 
no  sooner  gone  than  I  walked  forward  toward  the  captain's 
cabin,  near  the  after-hatchway,  anxious  enough  to  see  how 
the  poor  man  was,  since  I  had  had  such  a  share  in  bringing 
him  to  a  point,  one  way  or  another.  Westwood  was  standing 
against  the  light  out  of  the  open  door,  and  I  looked  in  along 
with  him,  at  the  cot  slung  high  to  the  beams  like  a  lump 
of  shadow,  the  lamp  striking  across  below  it  on  all  the  cap- 
tain's little  affairs — his  glazed  hat  and  his  wet  coat,  the 
names  of  two  or  three  old  books  even  hanging  in  shelves 
against  the  bulkhead — and  into  the  little  stateroom  off  the 
cabin,  where  the  surgeon  was  stooping  to  mix  a  draught. 

"The  hard-featured  Scotch  mate  stood  holding  the  cap- 
tain's wrist  with  one  clumsy  flipper,  as  if  trying  to  feel  his 
pulse,  fumbling  about  his  own  face  with  the  other,  and 
looking  more  concerned  than  I'd  thought  possible  for  him. 
'Well,  I  've  slept — a  good  deal,'  said  the  captain,  in  a  weak 
voice,  putting  up  his  hand  slowly  to  rub  his  eyes,  but  seem- 
ingly quite  composed,  and  knowing  nothing  of  what  had 
happened — which  rid  me  of  the  horrid  notion  I  could  scarce 
help  before,  that  he  had  known  what  he  was  about.  His  head 
was  close  shaved,  and  the  look  of  a  sailor  clean  gone  off 
his  face  with  the  bluff,  honest  oak-color  it  commonly  had,  till 
you  'd  have  wished  him  decently  in  his  bed  thousands  of 
miles  off,  with  women  slipping  out  and  in;  only  the  blood 
from  his  arm  hanging  down  on  the  sheet,  with  the  sharp 
point  of  his  nose  and  the  shape  of  his  knees  coming  up 
off  the  shadow,  kept  it  all  in  one  with  the  wild  affair  on 
deck  a  few  hours  gone. 

"  'She 's  on  her  course,  you  say  ?'  added  he,  listlessly. 
'Must  be  a  very  light  breeze,  though,  Mr.  Macleod.'  'So 
it  is^  sir;  so  it  is,  no  doubt!'  replied  the  second  mate, 
soothing  him;  'did  ye  say  we'll  pent  the  ship,  sir?'  'Ay, 
before  we  go  into  port,  Mr.  Macleod,  to  be  sure,'  said  Captain 
Williamson,  trying  to  put  a  cheerful  tone  into  his  voice; 


A  SEA  STORY  191 

'she 's  had  a  good  deal  of  buffeting,  but  we  must  n't  let  'em 
see  it,  you  know!  Didn't  you  lose  a  mizzen-topmast  some- 
how, though,  Mr.  Macleod  ?'  '  'Deed  ay,  sir,'  said  Macleod 
hastily,  afraid  he  was  getting  upon  the  scent  of  what  had 
happened;  'the  first  officer's  watch  it  was,  sir — will  /  tell 
Mr.  Finch  ye  're  wanting  to  speak  to  him  about  it,  Captain 
Williamson?'  and  he  began  to  shuffle  towards  the  door. 

"  'Finch  ?  Finch  ?'  said  the  sick  man,  passing  his  finger 
over  his  eyes  again;  'what  voyage  is  this,  Mr.  Macleod ?' 
'Why — why,'  said  the  Scotchman,  starting,  and  rather  puzzled 
himself.  'Go,  it 's  just  this  voyage,  ye  know,  sir !  Mr.  Finch, 
ye  mind,  sir?'  'No,  no;  don't  let  him  leave  the  deck  for  a 
moment,  Macleod!'  said  the  captain,  anxiously:  'hark  ye, 
James,  I  'm  afraid  I  've  trusted  over-much  to  the  young 
man  all  along !  I  '11  tell  ye,  Mr.  Macleod,  I  don't  know 
whether  I  was  asleep  or  not,  but  I  heard  him  somewhere 
wishing  he  had  the  command  of  this  ship !  I  should  n't 
like  him  to  take  her  off  my  hands !  Have  you  seen  the  Scilly 
lights  yet,  Mr.  Macleod?' 

"The  mate  shook  his  head;  he  had  contrived  to  per- 
suade the  poor  man  we  were  far  homeward  bound.  'If 
you  'd  only  get  the  pilot  aboard,  Mr.  Macleod,'  the  captain 
went  on,  'I  'd  die  contented ;  but  mind  the  charts — mind 
the  charts — I  've  got  the  charts  to  mind  for  another  sort 
of  voyage  myself,  James!'  'Hoot,  hoot,  captain!'  said  the 
Scotchman,  'what  sets  ye  for  to  talk  after  that  fashion — 
you  '11  be  up  an'  about  decks  directly,  sir !  What  were  ye 
saying  about  topem'sts  now,  sir?'  Captain  Williamson  gave 
the  second  mate  a  glance  that  looked  into  him,  and  he 
held  down  his  head,  for  the  man  evidently  believed  fully, 
as  none  of  us  could  help  doing,  that  there  was  death  on 
the  captain's  face. 

"  'James,  James !'  said  the  captain,  slowly,  'you  've  no 
notion  how  some  things  weigh  on  the  mind  at  a  pass  of 
this  kind !  Other  things  one  don't  remember — but  there 's 
one  in  particular,  almost  as  it  were  yesterday — why,  surely 
you  were  with  me  that  voyage,  Mr.  Macleod !  when  I  let  some 

o'  the  passengers  take  a  boat  in  a  calm,  and  all Here 

he  stopped,  seemingly  overcome.  'There  was  one  young 
creature  amongst  'em,'  he  went  on,  'the  age  of  my  own 
girl,  Macleod — my  own  little  Nan,  you  know — and  now 
— now  I  miss  her — and,  and- —  The  poor  man  gave  a 
great  gulp,  clutching  the  mate's  arm,  and  gazing  him  in 
the  face.  'Was  n't  it  a  long  time  ago  ?'  said  he  very  anxiously ; 
'if  it  was  n't  I  would  go  mad !  They  were  all  drowned — 


192 


THE  GREEN  HAND 


drowned — I  see  that  black  squall  coming  down  on  the  swell 
now,  man,  and  the  brig,  and  all  of  us  looking  out  to  the  wind- 
'ard!'  'I  mind  something  about  it,'  replied  Macleod  stoutly, 
though  he  looked  away :  '  't  was  none  o'  your  fault,  though, 
Captain  Williamson — they  were  just  fey,  sir ;  and  more  than 
that,  if  ye  mind,  sir,  they  took  the  boat  again'  all  orders — 
on  the  sly,  I  may  say.' 

"Westwood  was  on  the  point  of  starting  forward  to  make 
known  how  the  case  stood,  on  the  strength  of  our  finding 
the  paper  in  the  bottle,  when  I  pressed  his  arm,  and  whis- 
pered that  it  could  only  make  things  worse,  and  cheat  the 
sick  man  of  a  notion  more  likely  to  do  him  good  than 
otherwise.  'It's  a  heavy  charge,  Mr.  Macleod,  a  heavy 
charge!'  said  he,  falling  back  again;  'and  one  Mr.  Brown 
need  n't  envy.  'Mr.  Finch,  sir,  ye  mind,'  put  in  the  second 
mate,  setting  him  right ;  'but  keep  up  your  heart,  sir,  for  any 
sake !'  'I  feel  I  '11  last  over  the  time  o'  next  full  tide,'  said 
the  captain,  solemnly.  'I  don't  want  to  know  how  far  we  're 
off,  only  if  there  's  any  chance  at  ail,  Macleod,  you  won't  spare 
canvas  to  carry  her  in.' 

"The  Scotchman  rubbed  one  of  his  hard  cheek-bones  after 
the  other,  and  grumbled  something  or  other  in  his  throat 
by  way  of  agreement.  The  whole  thing  was  melancholy  to 
see  after  last  night's  stir,  with  the  dim  lamp  or  two  twinkling 
along  the  gloom  of  the  steerage,  the  dead  quietness  of  the 
ship,  and  the  smothered  sort  of  glare  under  the  captain's 
cot  bringing  out  the  mere  litter  on  the  floor,  to  the  very 
cockroaches  putting  their  ugly  feelers  out  of  one  of  his 
shoes  in  a  corner;  he  shut  his  eyes,  and  lay  for  a  minute  or 
two  seemingly  asleep,  only  murmuring  something  about  a 
breeze,  and  then  asking  them  to  shove  out  the  port,  't  was 
so  close.  The  second  mate  looked  to  the  surgeon,  who  signed 
to  him  to  do  it,  as  if  it  did  n't  much  matter  by  this  time ; 
while  he  gave  him  the  draught  of  physic  he  was  mixing, 
however. 

"The  Indiaman  was  beginning  to  swing  slowly  before  the 
first  of  the  flood,  stern  off  at  her  anchors;  and  whenever  the 
port  was  opened,  't  was  so  still  otherwise  that  you  heard 
the  tide  clearly  in  the  cabin,  rippling  along  the  timbers  to  the 
copper  upon  her  bows — plash,  plash,  and  lap,  lip,  lap,  like 
no  other  earthly  sound  that  a  man  can  hear — and  you  even 
began  to  note  it  on  something  else  a  good  bit  off,  though 
it  seemed  to  be  all  quite  dark  out-board.  The  captain's  eyes 
opened  by  degrees,  till  we  saw  them  looking  at  us  out  of 
the  shadow  of  the  cot,  and  the  second  mate  started  as  if  to 


A  SEA  STORY  193 

mend  his  mistake ;  only  't  was  plain  enough,  by  that  time, 
the  captain  knew  the  sound,  half  raising  himself  up  and 
listening.  A  few  early  mosquitoes  came  in.  and,  after 
dancing  about  to  refresh  themselves  in  the  light  and  warmth 
under  the  cot,  began  to  bite  savagely;  every  one  of  us  had 
a  distant  horn  sounding  in  his  ear,  and  each  was  rubbing 
it  or  his  nose,  except  the  sick  man,  but  not  one  of  them  set- 
tled on  him.  As  the  starboard  port  slued  gradually  opposite 
to  the  nearest  shore,  a  low,  deep  hum  was  carried  in  over  the 
water,  ebbing  and  flowing,  and  full  of  dim,  creeping  noises, 
like  things  stirring  in  their  sleep,  as  if  the  little  cabin 
had  been  an  ear  to  the  ship.  At  times  the  tree-frogs 
broke  out  in  a  loud  clicking  chirrup;  then,  between  the 
fits  of  it,  when  all  seemed  still  again  for  a  moment  or  two, 
you  heard  a  low,  half -smothered,  small  sound,  deeper  down,  as 
it  were,  fill  up  the  break  with  its  throbbing  and  trill-trilling, 
as  if  just  one  land-cricket  or  a  grasshopper  did  it,  till  it 
came  out  as  clear  as  though  it  were  a  child's  rattle  close  by, 
and  all  of  a  sudden  stopped;  when  back  floated  the  huge 
whispering  hum  again,  with  a  damp  smell  of  leaves  on 
a  cold  breath  of  the  land-air,  that  died  away  as  quickly 
as  it  reached  us.  The  bewilderment  on  Captain  William- 
son's white  face  for  that  minute's  time  was  cruel  to  wit- 
ness, and  Macleod  would  certainly  have  closed  the  port,  but 
for  the  captain's  seizing  his  arm  again,  with  a  wild,  ques- 
tioning sort  of  a  look  into  the  second  mate's  eyes.  'Oh, 
good  God!'  faltered  out  the  captain,  'it's — it's  land! — where 

— where ?'      Tor    goodsake,    sir,'    said    Macleod,    'don't 

ask  me  the  now — take  a  bit  of  sleep,  sir.' 

"We  could  hear  one  another  breathing,  when  ting-tang 
went  four  bells  on  deck.  You  heard  it  going  across  to  the 
shore,  as  it  were;  and  a  few  moments  after,  out  of  the 
humming  far  and  wide  along  the  land,  back  came  the  sound 
of  another  bell,  toll  upon  toll,  like  some  clock  striking 
the  hour  a  long  way  off.  Then  a  third  one  followed  on  it, 
from  a  different  direction,  ringing  clearer  in  the  air;  while 
the  murmur  and  the  rush  seemed  to  swell  up  the  more  all 
round,  and  the  plashing  of  the  tide  made  the  ship  heave 
at  her  anchors.  The  mate  shivered,  Westwood  and  I  started, 
but  some  extraordinary  notion  or  other  gleamed  over  the 
captain's  face  as  he  sat  up.  He  was  quite  in  his  senses, 
too,  apparently,  though  it  seemed  to  be  neither  more  nor 
less  than  sheer  joy  that  overcame  him,  for  he  let  out  a 
long  breath,  and  his  eyes  were  glistening  as  if  the  tears  stood 
in  them.  'James — James  Macleod!'  said  he  quickly,  with 


i94  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  husky  voice,  'you  ought  n't  to  've  deceived  one  you  've 
sailed  so  long  with;  but  you  meant  me  a  good  surprise, 
and  't  was  kindly  done  of  you !  I  know  the  very  run  o' 
the  clocks  off  Greenwich  Keach,  man ;  d'  ye  think  one  could 
mistake  the  sound  of  Lon'on  town,  fidgeting  when  it  wakes, 
either  ? — we  're — we  're  home  already !' 

"And  he  fell  back  in  the  cot,  with  the  drops  running 
down  his  cheek,  smiling  happily  all  the  time  at  Macleod 
in  a  way  that  went  to  one's  heart;  while  the  Scotchman 
stared  helplessly  to  the  surgeon,  who  slipped  to  the  port 
and  closed  it.  'I  know  by  your  way,  James,'  continued 
the  poor  man,  'you  wanted  to  send  up  to  Virginia  Row  for 
'em  all;  but  don't  send  for  an  hour  yet;  better  go  up  your- 
self and  break  it  to  'em — break  it  to  'em,  be  sure  of  that, 
James;  I  shouldn't  wonder  but  I  pulled  up,  after  all.  Ah 
— that  first  one  we  heard  was  Greenwich  Hospital — t'  other  is 

Dicksons'  brewery  or  Redriff '  Here  his  eyelids  began 

to  drop,  owing  to  the  sleeping-draught  he  had  got,  when 
suddenly  they  opened  wide  again. 

"  'Ha !'  said  he,  listening,  and  putting  up  a  finger,  'but 
I  haven't  heard  St.  Paul's  strike  six  yet;  it's  seldom  so 
long  after;  ought  to  be  heard  from  here  of  a  morning; 

let 's '  By  little  and  little,  however,  the  sick  man's  eyes 

closed,  and  you  heard  him  murmuring,  as  his  finger  sank 
down,  'Macleod,  say — to  her — say — luff,  luff,  my  lad,  keep 
her  her  course — '  till  his  shrunk  face  was  as  quiet  on  the 
pillow  as  if  he'd  been  really  at  home  the  first  night  after 
a  voyage. 

"'Oh  man,  doctor!'  said  the  second  mate,  heaving  a 
breath,  'is  n't  terrible !  Good  forgive  me  for  a  lee  to  a  dying 
man!  Take  an  old  seaman's  word  for  it,  Dr.  Small,  yon 
clock  ashore  was  no  mortal  soond,  sir;  ye  may  keep  your 
drogues  for  them  they  '11  do  good  to.  'T  was  neither  more 
or  less  than  the  captain's  dregy!'  'Phoo!'  answered  the 
Scotch  surgeon,  who  was  one  of  your  sceptical  chaps,  as  I 
heard  say,  'some  other  vessels  here,  of  course,  that's  all. 
The  sailor  gave  him  only  a  smile  of  pity  for  not  being 
able  to  distinguish  the  sounds  of  a  ship's  bell.  'There 
can't  be  a  town  hereabouts,  Collins?'  whispered  Westwood. 
'A  town — no!'  said  I;  'it's  the  best  wilderness  sign  you 
can  have — the  African  bell-bird!'*  'Ah,  ah!'  said  the  sur- 
geon, laughing,  'there  now,  Macleod — of  course  it  can  be 

*Sc.— The  South  African  and  South  American  campanero,  or  bell-bird, 
whose  peculiar  note  may  be  heard  two  or  three  miles  off,  chiefly  in  the  loneliest 
parts  of  the  Brazilian  or  Benguela  forest. 


A  SEA  STORY  195 

explained  naturally,  like  other  things.'  The  second  mate 
gave  me  a  doubtful  scowl;  but  seeing  Westwood,  whom 
he  had  always  seemed  to  think  rather  in  the  way  before, 
his  eye  softened. 

"  'You  '11  be  wanting  to  see  the  captain  as  soon  as  he 
wakes  up,  sir,'  said  he.  'I  'm  terrified  to  face  him — but  if 
ye  'd  juist  slip  in  when  he  comes  to  himself,  sir,  I  'm 
thinking,  reverend  sir,  ye  might  wile  him  off  yon  terrible 
notion  o'  his.'  Westwood  shook  his  head  seriously,  not  know- 
ing what  to  say.  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  continued  Macleod,  as  he 
half  closed  the  door,  'no  doubt  a  man  ought  to  be  upon 
better  things ;  but  it 's  hard  for  him,  when  he 's  got  a  wife 
and  weans  six  thousand  miles  away,  and  wants  them  along- 
side in  a  couple  of  hours — uncommon  hard,  sir !  She  's  a 
douce,  careful  body,  too,  Mistress  Williamson,  like  the  cap- 
tain's self;  and  I  heard  her  fleech  sore  with  the  captain 
before  we  sailed,  for  to  bide  quietly  ashore  this  time,  for 
good.  Poor  woman !  if  she  did  n't  e'en  go  the  length  o' 
partin'  in  anger  the  last  morning,  wae  's  me !  till  the  very 
moment  when  (he  telt  me  himself,  sir),  she  out  with  her 
arms  round  his  neck,  crying  like  to  choke!  An'  all  to — 
but  if  the  captain  had  a  fault,  't  was  the  love  o' — good 
forgive  me,  though,  when  it  was  but  studying  his  faim'ly, 
Mr.  Thomas !  If  it  was  only  an  auld  tarry  deevil  like  me, 
now,  with  neither  kith  or  kin!'  'Except  cousins,  Mr.  Mac- 
leod,' said  the  surgeon,  as  he  wiped  his  lancet  on  his  coat- 
tail — 'plenty  of  them  in  the  High —  '  But  he  caught  West- 
wood's  eye,  and  was  ashamed  to  finish  his  heartless  joke, 
though  the  rough  second  mate  was  too  full  of  his  feeling 
to  hear  it;  when  Westwood  said  something  about  our  all 
thinking  too  little  of  these  things  beforehand,  but  how 
the  captain  was  plainly  a  man  that  had  done  his  duty 
carefully,  which  no  doubt  would  ease  his  mind.  The  mate 
looked  up,  and  eyed  him  sideways  for  a  moment:  'Eh? 
what?'  said  he  bluntly;  'it's  not  so  little  I  mind  o'  what 
I  used  to  hear  at  the  kirk  langsyne,  as  not  to  know  that 's 
not  the  right  doctrine.  D  'ye  think,  sir,  that 's  what  '11  put 
him  over,  when  he  finds  out  this  is  not  Greenwich  Reach '( 
There 's  the  Methody  minister  with  the  glasses,  though !' 
he  broke  out,  when  again  a  look  of  despair  came  over 
his  broad  hard-favored  countenance.  'They  're  always  upon 
works,  too,  I've  heard!'  said  he,  turning  and  murmuring 
to  himself;  'oh,  if  I  could  but  hoist  out  a  bit  screed  o'  the 
truth,  myself,  to  comfort  the  poor  fellow  with!  Lord,  how 
did  n't  I  think  of  the  Shorter  Carritch — let 's  see  how 't 


196  THE  GREEN  HAND 

went_«What  is  the  chief  end  of"— no,  it's  "What  is 
faith  in — faith  in  the  only  rule  to  direct  us" — no,  no — "Bap- 
tism is  a  sacrament — where — whereby" — and  he  was  still 
overhauling  some  old  catechism  in  this  fashion,  twisting 
himself  all  the  time  as  if  he  were  twisting  a  stiff  rope  the 
wrong  way,  with  a  look  of  misery  none  of  us  could  have 
had  the  heart  to  laugh  at,  when  a  middy's  voice  came 
squeaking  down  the  dark  after-hatchway :  'Mr.  Macleod,  sir, 
the  chief  officer  wants  you  on  deck.' 

"Westwood  slipped  quietly  off,  and  the  young  surgeon 
was  beginning  to  talk  easily,  to  rid  his  mind  of  something, 
perhaps,  till  I  asked  if  there  was  n't  any  chance.  'Oh,  the 
captain,  you  mean?'  said  he,  'don't  think  there  is — he's 
a  bad  subject!  If  we  were  out  at  sea  now,  Mr.  Collins, 
the  calenture  would  make  him  think  the  waves  all  grass, 

or  something  as  green  as — as  the  cawdets  used  to  call '  1 

looked  at  the  fellow  sternly,  and  he  changed  his  key, 
though  with  a  surprised  air. 

"  'You  're  blessed  early  up,  though,  you  two !'  said  he.  'I 
suppose  that  cursed  squall  kept  you  idlers  awake;  but  how 
they  managed  without  the  first  mate  I  can't  think.  Clever 
fellow,  Finch !  but  was  n't  it  a  curious  trick  of  the  poor 
skipper  to  box  him  up  below  here  ?  I  fancy  he  'd  a  guess 
we  would  all  soon  be  under  the  mate's  command !  It 's  a 
queer  thing  the  brain,  is  n't  it,  Mr.  Collins  ?  For  exaumple, 
now,  there  's  the  captain  it  makes  him  think  something  or 
other  a  clock  near  London,  with  everything  accordingly ! 
Macleod  fancies  it  a  soopernatural  knell,  and  twaddles  about 
some  Calvinist  stuff  he  learned  at  school.  Then  you  and 
me,  you  know,  imaugines  it 's  a  bird — now  whuch  is  it, 
after  all?  Nothing — maybe,  eh?'  The  fellow  capped  all  with 
a  sneer,  as  much  as  to  say  I  was  a  fool,  which  I  had  stood 
from  him  several  times  before;  though  now  I  coulcl  have 
kicked  him,  more  for  his  heartless  way  than  aught  else.  '1 
tell  you,  Mr.  Small,'  said  I,  'what  I  think  you — you  're  neither 

more  nor  less  than  a '  but  I  turned  on  my  heel.  'I  'm  off, 

however,'  said  he,  'to  turn  in  again.' 

"Through  the  half-closed  door  one  could  see  the  sick 
man's  face  sleeping  so  quiet  in  the  shadow  from  the  lamp, 
you  heard  not  a  breath.  I  looked  up  the  after-hatchway.  It 
seemed  still  quite  dark;  and  a  patch  of  the  deep  dark-blue 
sky  showed  high  over  the  square  opening,  with  two  or  three 
keen  sparks  of  stars,  green  ones  and  blue  ones — you'd 
have  thought  the  ladder,  short  as  it  was,  went  up  to  some- 
where clean  above  the  world.  But  the  moment  I  got  on 


A  SEA  STORY  197 

deck,  I  saw  it  was  really  lighter — the  heavy  fog  creeping 
slowly  astern  of  the  ship  on  both  hands;  the  white  mist 
rolling  faster  over  it  before  the  sea-breeze  against  her  bows, 
which  had  swung  seaward  by  this  time  from  the  tide,  that 
rushed  like  a  mill-stream  upon  both  her  tight  cables;  while 
the  muddy  river  water,  bubbling,  eddying,  and  fronting 
away  past,  spread  far  up  in  the  middle,  into  the  dusk  astern. 
Such  a  jabbering,  croaking,  hissing,  shrieking,  and  yelling, 
too,  as  burst  into  one's  ears  out  of  the  dark,  as  if  whole 
legions  of  monkeys,  bullfrogs,  parrots,  paroquets,  and  what 
not,  were  coming  together  full  upon  us  from  both  sides, 
one  band  nearer  than  the  other;  till  the  heavy  boom  of  the 
surf  round  the  point,  and  the  roar  of  the  tide  coming  in 
over  the  shallows  about  the  river-mouth,  pretty  well 
drowned  it. 

"The  sudden  change  was  a  good  relief,  Babel  though  it 
seemed  after  the  closeness  below,  with  what  had  been  going 
on;  and  I  looked  ahead  towards  the  sea,  which  lay  away  out 
off  our  larboard  bow,  round  the  headland,  and  over  the  op- 
posite point;  a  cold  watery  streak  of  light  showing  it  from 
where  the  breakers  rose  plunging  and  scattering  along  the 
sandy  bar,  to  the  steady  gray  line  of  horizon  clipped  by 
one  of  the  two  brown  chops  we  had  got  into.  It  looked 
dreary  enough  as  yet,  the  mouth  of  it  'being  wider  than 
I  'd  fancied  it  from  seaward  at  night;  though  even  with  full 
water  over  the  long  spit  of  sand  in  the  middle,  there  was 
no  draught  at  all  for  the  Indiaman  except  by  the  chan- 
nel betwixt  it  and  the  bold  point  to  our  right;  and  pretty 
narrow  it  appeared  from  our  present  berth,  heaving  as  it 
did  with  a  green  swell  that  set  in,  while  meantime  the 
mist  scudding  across  the  face  of  the  headland  let  us  see 
but  the  hard  lump  of  bare  black  rock  underneath. 

"In  less  time  than  I'  ve  taken  to  speak,  however,  the  full 
space  of  sky  aloft  was  turning  clear,  the  sea  far  away  sud- 
denly shone  out  blue,  with  the  surges  tipped  white;  you 
saw  a  sparkling  star  high  over  it  sink  slowly  in,  and  the 
fog  spread  off  the  water  near  us,  till  here  and  there  you 
caught  the  muffled-up  shape  of  a  big  tree  or  two  looming 
through,  not  half  a  mile  off  our  starboard  quarter;  the 
mist  creeping  over  the  headland  till  the  sharp  peak  of  it 
stood  out  against  its  shadow  on  the  shoulder  of  a  hill  be- 
yond, and  old  Bob  Martin's  single  clump  of  cocoas  on  the 
rise  waving  in  landward  from  the  brisk  sea-breeze. 

"One  passenger  after  another  came  peeping  sleepily  out 
of  the  companion-hatch  at  the  men  clearing  away  the  wreck 


198  THE  GREEN   HAND 

of  the  spars,  and  swabbing  the  quarter-deck  down;  but 
scarce  had  Smith,  one  of  the  young  writers,  reached  the 
poop,  when  he  gave  a  shout  that  covered  both  poop-lad- 
ders in  no  time,  with  people  scrambling  over  each  other 
to  get  up.  Next  minute  you  'd  have  fancied  them  a  knot  of 
flamingoes  with  their  wings  out,  as  the  bright  red  daybreak 
brought  out  the  edge  of  the  woods  far  astern,  through  a  hazy 
lane  in  the  purple  mist,  topped  so  with  stray  cocoanut 
trees  and  cabbage-palms,  dabbled  like  brushes  in  the  color, 
that  they  scarce  knew  them  to  be  woods  at  all,  and  not  a 
whole  lot  of  wild  savages  fresh  from  other  business  of 
the  kind,  coming  down  with  all  sorts  of  queer  tools  upon 
us;  more  especially  when  one  heard  such  a  chorus  of  un- 
accountable cries,  whistling  and  screaming,  as  seemed  to 
struggle  with  the  sound  of  the  sea  ahead  of  us,  and  the 
plash  alongside. 

"The  huge  round  sun  struck  hot  crimson  along  the  far 
turn  of  the  reach,  with  all  manner  of  twisted  blots  upon  him, 
as  it  were,  and  the  very  grass  and  long  reeds  seemingly 
rustling  into  his  face,  so  one  did  n't  for  the  moment  know 
him  either;  while  the  muddy  chocolate-colored  eddies,  sweep- 
ing and  closing  beyond  the  ship's  rudder,  glittered  and 
frothed  up  like  blood;  and  every  here  and  there,  along  the 
streak  of  light,  the  head  of  a  log  or  a  long  branch  came 
dipping  up  terribly  plain — no  wonder  the  old  'Seringapatam' 
had  apparently  turned  tail  to  it  all,  ready  to  bolt  if  she 
could. 

"Almost  as  soon  as  you  took  your  hands  off  your  eyes, 
though,  and  could  see  without  a  red  ball  or  two  before  them 
— there  was  the  nearest  shore  growing  out  toward  our 
starboard  bulwark  all  along,  crowded  with  wet  green  woods, 
up  into  steaming  high  ground — all  to  eastward  a  dazzle  of 
light,  with  two  or  three  faint  mountain-peaks  shooting 
up  far  off  in  it,  and  a  woody  blue  hill  or  so  between;  while 
here  and  there  a  broad  bright  hazy  spoke  of  the  sun's 
great  wheel  came  cutting  down  into  the  forest,  that  brought 
out  a  patch  full  of  long  big  leaves,  ten  times  greener  than 
the  rest,  and  let  you  look  off  the  deck  into  the  heart  of 
it  amongst  the  stems  over  the  bank.  The  jabber  in  the 
woods  had  passed  off  all  at  once  with  the  dusk,  the  water 
deepening  over  the  bar,  and  the  tide  running  slower,  so 
that  every  one's  confused  face  turned  breathless  with  de- 
light as  it  grew  stiller  and  stiller. 

"The  whole  breadth  of  the  river  shone  out  by  this  time, 
full  and  smooth,  to  the  opposite  shore  three  times  as  far 


A  SEA  STORY  199 

away,  where  the  wood  and  bulrushes  seemed  to  grow  out  of 
the  water;  a  long  thick  range  of  low,  muddy-looking  man- 
groves, with  a  cover  of  dark  green,  rounding  from  the 
farthest  point  one  saw,  down  to  some  sandy  hummocks  near 
the  mouth,  and  a  ridge  of  the  same  drifted  up  by  the  wind  oft' 
the  beach.  Beyond  that  side  there  was  nothing,  apparently, 
but  a  rolling  sweep  of  long,  coarse  grass,  with  a  few  strag- 
gling cocoanut  trees  and  baobabs,  like  big  swollen  logs  on 
end,  and  taken  to  sprouting  at  top:  a  dun-colored  heave  of 
land  in  the  distance,  too,  that  came  out,  as  it  got  hotter, 
in  a  long  desert-like,  red-brick-dust  sort  of  a  glare.  The 
sole  living  things  to  be  seen  as  yet  were  some  small  birds 
rising  up  out  of  the  long  grass,  and  the  turkey-buzzards  sail- 
ing high  over  all  across,  as  if  on  the  lookout. 

"The  air  was  so  cool  and  clear,  however,  from  the  tornado 
overnight — not  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and  the  strange  scent  of 
the  land  reaching  us  as  the  dew  rose  off  it — you  could  see 
far  and  wide,  with  a  delicious  feeling  of  it  all,  that  kept 
every  one  standing  fixed  on  the  spot  where  he  first  gained 
the  deck,  even  the  men  looking  over  their  shoulders 
with  the  ropes  in  their  fists,  and  the  fresh  morning  breeze 
lifting  one's  hair.  Surprised  as  the  passengers  were,  nobody 
spoke  a  word,  except  the  three  or  four  children  shouting, 
dancing,  and  pointing  together,  without  being  noticed,  till 
all  at  once  the  whole  poopful  burst  into  one  confusion  of 
questions  and  exclamations,  running  hither  and  thither, 
shaking  hands  and  jostling  each  other  like  distracted  people. 

"I  had  a  spyglass  at  my  eye,  making  out  the  other  shore, 
when,  turning  round  in  the  middle  of  it,  the  first  thing 
1  saw  was  Violet  Hyde's  face,  as  she  stood  with  one  little 
foot  on  the  stair-head  behind  me,  holding  the  rail  with 
one  hand,  her  eyes  sparkling,  and  her  parted  lips  mur- 
muring like  one  in  a  dream:  'Oh,  Mr.  Collins!'  exclaimed 
she,  breathless;  'what  is  this?  Where  are  we — is  it  Fairy- 
land? A  river!'  'Yes,  in  Africa,'  I  said;  'but  whether  it's 
the  Bembarooghe  or  the —  'That  fearful,  fearful  even- 
ing!' continued  she,  shuddering:  'I  saw  the  frightful  sky, 
and  heard  the  storm — and  now! — Were  we  not  in  some  very 
great  danger,  sir?'  'Yes,  ma' am, we  were,' replied  I, as  stiffly  as 
I  could ;  'but,  happily,  it 's  over  now !'  And  I  gave  my  cap 
a  lift  to  move  off,  uneasy  as  I  was,  every  moment,  lest  Sir 
Charles  should  catch  me  speaking  again  to  his  daughter. 
However,  Miss  Hyde  was  gazing  eagerly  at  the  land,  and  1 
had  to  wait.  'What  lovely,  lovely  green!'  she  half  whis- 
pered :  'oh,  if  one  could  only  tread  upon  it ! — so  un-English 


200  THE  GREEN  HAND 

those  strange  tall  trees  look!  are  they  not  cocoanut  trees 

and — and '     Suddenly  her  voice  faltered,  and  she  turned 

round  with  her  bright  blue  eyes  swimming  in  tears — 'How 
—how  thankful  we  should  be  that  we  are  not — like  our 
poor,  poor  friends,  who  were  lost !'  exclaimed  she.  I  thought 
of  the  poor  captain  below  in  his  cot,  but  next  moment  I 
was  explaining,  to  her  sheer  amazement,  how  the  real  truth 
of  the  matter  stood,  though,  if  possible,  it  seemed  to  horrify 
her  still  more.  'I  can't  think  what  they  may  be,'  I  rapped 
out ;  'but  if  I  had  the  command  of  this  ship,  I  'd  up  anchor 
.this  very  hour,  and  go  out — at  least  as  soon  as  the  tide  ebbed; 
'but,  at  any  rate,  at  the  Cape  I  mean  to  get  hold  of  some 
schooner  or  other,  and  if  it  were  to  China,  why,  I  '11  cruise 

after  'em  till  I '     'Then  you  think,'  began  she,  and  an 

arch  inquisitive  sort  of  look  danced  in  both  her  eyes  as 
she  turned  away  to  watch  the  shore  again,  saying  slowly, 
'You  are  a — a  naval  gentleman  then,  Mr.  West — Mr.  Col- 
lins?' I  tried  to  stammer  out  something  by  way  of  an  ex- 
planation, but  it  wouldn't  do,  and  I  said,  'At  any  rate, 
I'm  no  better,  by  this  time,  than  an  idler  aboard  here, 
ma'am !' 

"All  at  once  I  caught  a  side-look  from  her  eyes,  that 
was  n't  meant  for  me,  as  she  glanced  over  the  poop-netting. 
Half  provoking  and  half  sweet  it  was,  though,  and  it  made 
my  brain  somehow  or  other  seem  to  spin  round,  till  a  little 
after,  before  I  well  knew  what  I  was  about,  I  was  holding 
the  long  spyglass  for  her  to  see  the  bank  of  the  river — 
her  warm  breath  coming  on  my  ear  as  I  stooped  before 
her,  near  enough  to  have  kissed  the  muslin  on  her  shoul- 
der, while  her  rosy  mouth  changed  with  every  new  spot  that 
the  glass  brought  near;  and  she  had  to  hold  one  taper  fore- 
finger on  the  ether  eyelid  to  keep  it  shut,  so  that  I  could 
dwell  on  her  face  as  if  she  'd  been  asleep.  'There,  there !' 
exclaimed  she,  'are  actually  flowers — with  such  immense 
leaves!  And  now — an  enormous  tree,  with  roots  hanging 
from  the  branches,  and  other  stems  growing  up  into  them. 

Why,   yes! — is   not   that    a   banian-tree,   Mr. ?'    and    she 

looked  away  at  me,  when  of  course  the  tree  was  vanished,  and 
instead  of  that,  the  rather  undeniable  expression  of  a  fellow 
in  love,  two  or  three  inches  off,  bent  fair  upon  her.  \riolet 
Hyde  colored  a  little,  and  looked  in  again.  'And,  I  think,' con- 
tinued she,  'I  see — oh,  two  such  beautiful  creatures — deer,  I 
think,  coming  out  to  drink  from  the  river!'  All  this  time, 
the  ecstasies  of  the  rest  kept  up  the  noise  and  confusion; 
the  young  lady's-maid  was  gaping  open-mouthed  at  the 


A  SEA  STORY  201 

shore,  not  even  noticing  her  young  mistress's  straw  bonnet 
fall  ofi,  and  I  had  just  picked  it  up  with  one  hand,  to  put 
it  quietly  over  that  matchless  nut-brown  hair  of  hers,  shin- 
ing suddenly  in  the  sun,  like  silk,  when  the  Judge's  voice 
sang  out  sharp  from  the  other  stair,  'Violet,  child,  you  '11 
have  a  sunstroke.  Kitmagar,  you  scoundrel,  ~beebee  sahib 
punkah  lao,  sirrah!'  I  held  on  to  the  telescope  like  grim 
death,  while  that  eternal  punkah  was  hoisted  over  us  both, 
the  Judge  eying  me  somewhat  coolly  for  the  first  moment. 
'Well,  well,  Mr.  Westwood,'  said  he,  however,  'you  've  got 
rid  of  that  proud  freak  of  yours;  such  behavior  as  yours 
yesterday,  I  assure  you,  I  should  n't  have  endured  from 
anyone  else,  young  man!  But,  my  dear  boy,'  added  he 
suddenly,  'from  what  I  can  gather,  indeed  saw  myself,  last 
night,  I  am  convinced  we  owe  you  a  very  great  deal — even, 
I  suspect,  the  safety  of  the  entire  vessel!'  Miss  Hyde  had 
left  off  using  the  glass,  and,  as  I  stood  up,  she  gave  me 
a  quick  glance  of  amazement.  'Mere  chance,  sir,'  I  stam- 
mered. 'Why,'  said  Sir  Charles,  'I  saw  you  at  the  steerage 
in  the  middle  of  the  hurricane,  when  I  believe  the  actual 
officers  of  the  ship  had  left  it  in  dismay.  I  tell  you  what,  Mr. 
Westwood,  you  're  a  bold  fellow ;  and  your  uncle  and  I  must 
see  in  India  if  we  can't  reward  you  in  some  way,  my  dear 
boy!'  All  this  fondling  style  of  thing,  and  for  little  more 
than  a  piece  of  luck,  would  have  disgusted  me  if  I  had  n't 
been  more  taken  up  with  watching  the  side  of  Violet  Hyde's 
face,  as  she  listened  for  sounds  in  the  woods  ashore. 
'Strange,  wasn't  it,  Violet,  my  dear,'  continued  he  to  his 
daughter,  'that  my  friend  the  Councillor's  nephew  should 
have  gone  out  in  the  same  Indiaman,  so  fortunately — 
though  of  course,  after  all,  it  was  the  first  this  season.'  'Ah !' 
said  she,  starting,  'I  beg  pardon,  papa — what  did  you — 
weren't  you  talking  of  the  river?'  'Don't  you  hear,  child,' 
said  the  Judge,  'I  said  it  was  a  curious  coincidence,  Mr. 
Westwood's  going  in  this  vessel.'  'Oh,  yes,  indeed!'  an- 
swered she,  and  couldn't  help  looking  down  a  little  con- 
founded. But  the  lady's-maid  was  putting  on  her  tiny  slip- 
per, which  had  come  off,  while  her  father  mentioned  that 
of  course  I  'd  had  practical  reasons  for  not  owning  my  pro- 
fession hitherto;  meaning,  I  suppose,  that  I  didn't  speak 
for  fear  of  having  to  work,  like  the  monkeys — though  the 
sharp  old  lawyer  must  have  had  a  better  guess  by  this 
time,  and  queer  enough  it  must  have  been  to  see  her  face, 
listening  to  him  as  he  explained  it  all.  I  stood  biting  my 
lips,  meanwhile — two  or  three  times  on  the  point  of  telling 


202  THE  GREEN  HAND 

him  it  was  all  nonsense  about  my  being  a  nephew  of  any 
hanged  old  nabob  whatever;  when  Sir  Charles  said  care- 
lessly he  should  leave  the  'Seringapatam,'  if  possible,  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  he  couldn't  trust  safely  to  the 
present  officers. 

"Just  then  up  got  the  merry  chant  of  the  men  running 
round  with  the  capstan-bars,  to  get  up  anchor;  the  chief 
officer  wishing,  as  it  was  found,  to  carry  her  farther  into 
the  river  with  the  breeze — for  the  sake  of  filling  our 
water-casks  the  easier,  according  to  him,  but  more  likely 
out  of  sheer  spite  at  what  had  been  done  without  him. 
What  with  eagerness  in  the  cuddy  to  get  on  shore  and 
see  the  woods,  the  breakfast  below  was  a  rare  scene,  no  one 
minding  what  he  did,  even  to  rushing  slap  into  a  couple 
of  ladies'  berths  for  his  boots,  or  laying  a  couple  of  loaded 
Joe  Mantons  into  somebody's  bed,  swallowing  biscuit  and 
butter  on  the  way. 

"Suddenly  we  heard  the  splash  of  paddles  in  the  water, 
with  a  hail  in  some  foreign  tongue  or  other,  and  hurried 
on  deck  in  a  body;  where  we  found  the  ship  tiding  it 
slowly  up,  under  jibs  and  fore-topsail,  and  beginning  to  open 
a  longer  reach  where  the  river  seemed  to  narrow  in.  A 
black-eyed,  black-bearded  fellow,  with  a  tallow,  yellow, 
sweaty  sort  of  complexion,  in  a  dirty  jacket,  drawers,  and 
short  boots,  and  an  immense  grass  hat,  shouting  Portuguese 
louder  and  louder  into  the  first  mate's  ear,  till  he  actually 
put  both  hands  together,  and  roared  through  them,  pointing 
^to  himself  now  and  then,  as  if  surprised  he  was  n't  known. 

"All  at  once,  evidently  quite  disgusted,  he  turned  and 
looked  ever  the  side,  saying  something  to  one  of  the  ugliest 
and  most  ill-looking  mulattoes  I  ever  saw,  who  sat  in  the 
stern  of  a  long  rough  canoe,  hollowed  out  of  some  tree,  with 
two  naked  black  rowers,  less  of  the  real  nigger  than  him- 
self, as  they  leaned  grinning  up  at  the  bulwarks  with  their 
sharp  teeth,  that  appeared  as  if  they'd  been  filed  to  a 
point.  The  mulatto  gloomed,  but  gave  no  answer,  and  as 
one  of  the  cadets  and  I  knew  a  little  Portuguese,  we 
managed  together  to  get  something  out  of  the  fellow  on  deck, 
though,  at  noticing  him  for  the  first  time  that  morning,  1 
saw  Finch  turn  red  with  surprise. 

"We  understood  the  man  to  ask  if  we  wanted  nothing 
particular  in  the  river,  the  meaning  of  which  I  saw  better 
on  bethinking  me  of  the  fire  along  the  bush  inside  the 
headland,  that  had  let  me  see  the  marks  of  it — no  doubt 
a  signal  to  some  craft  they  had  taken  us  for.  However, 


A  SEA  STORY  203 

so  soon  as  he  heard  we  needed  no  more  than  water  and 
spars,  after  musing  a  minute,  and  speaking  again  to  Rod- 
riguez, as  he  called  the  mulatto,  he  said  he  would  pilot  us  to 
a  convenient  berth  himself,  for  two  or  three  dollars;  not- 
withstanding his  title  was,  as  he  said,  Don  Jose  Jeronimo 
Santa  somebody,  commandant  of  the  Portuguese  fort  some- 
thing else.  The  river,  we  found,  was  the  Nouries  or  the 
Cuanene,  where  they  had  a  settlement  called  Caconda,  a 
good  way  up;  a  remarkably  bad  country,  he  gave  us  to 
know,  and  not  worth  staying  in,  from  the  number  of  flies, 
and  the  elephants  having  got  into  a  cursed  way  of  bury- 
ing their  tusks — except,  he  hinted,  for  the  plenty  of  blacks, 
all  anxious  to  be  sold  and  to  see  foreign  countries;  but 
the  trade  was  nothing  yet — absolutely  nothing,  said  he, 
blowing  his  nose  without  a  pocket  handkerchief,  and  suiting 
the  act  to  the  word,  as  he  mentioned  his  notion  of  throwing 
it  up  and  going  farther  north-west. 

"By  this  time  we  had  stood  over  to  the  lowest  shore,  till 
you  could  see  the  thick  coffee-colored  mud  in  among  the 
roots  and  suckers  of  the  dark  green  mangroves,  with  their 
red  pods  bursting  under  their  rank-looking  leaves — and 
over  them,  through  the  tall  coarse  guinea-grass,  to  the  knots 
of  feathery  cocoas  behind,  swarming  with  insects;  when  he 
gave  the  sign  to  go  about,  one  of  his  blacks  heaving  a 
lead,  and  grunting  out  the  depth  of  water,  as  the  ship  made 
a  long  stretch  across  towards  the  woody  side  again,  and  Don 
Jose  all  the  time  taking  it  as  easy  as  if  the  quarter-deck 
were  his  own,  while  he  asked  for  a  cigar  and  lighted  it. 
Joke  though  he  did,  yet  I  couldn't  like  the  fellow  at  all; 
however,  as  soon  as  she  got  pretty  near  the  shore,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  what  seemed  a  wide  creek,  glit- 
tering up  between  a  high  fringe  of  cane  and  bamboo  clumps, 
he  had  the  sails  clewed  up,  a  single  anchor  let  go  in  four 
or  five  fathoms,  and  our  Portuguese  friend  got  his  money 
and  bundled  over  the  side,  pulling  quietly  ashore. 


204  THE  GREEN  HAND 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

"THE  tide  by  this  time  was  quite  still,  and  the  breeze  sank 
almost  at  once,  as  we  were  shut  in  from  the  sea,  when  we 
were  surprised  to  see  the  striped  Portuguese  flag  rise  off  a 
tall  bamboo  stick,  among  the  bushes  on  the  open  shore,  nearly 
abreast  of  us,  where  a  low  muddy-like  wall  was  to  be  made  out, 
with  something  of  a  thatched  roof  or  two,  and  a  sort  of 
rude  wooden  jetty  running  before  it  into  the  water.  Shortly 
after,  Don  Jose  came  paddling  out  again,  and  got  on  board 
this  time  with  an  old  cocked  hat  on,  excusing  himself  for 
not  having  fired  a  gun — which  was  to  save  us  expense,  he 
remarked,  being  particular  friends — seeing  that  he  'd  got  to 
demand  twelve  dollars  of  harbor  dues  and  duties,  whereas, 
if  he  saluted,  he  must  have  charged  fourteen.  The  cool  im- 
pudence of  this  brought  the  chief  officer  from  the  capstan; 
but  the  steady  face  of  the  fellow,  and  the  glance  ha  took 
round  the  deck  when  the  cadet  told  him  he  'd  better  be  off 
at  once,  made  me  think  he  had  something  or  other  to  back 
him.  Mr.  Finch,  as  usual,  fumed  up  into  a  passion,  and  told 
the  men  to  fling  him  over  into  his  canoe,  which  they  ac- 
cordingly did,  without  the  least  nicety  about  it;  the  Portu- 
guese next  minute  picking  himself  up,  and  standing  straight, 
with  the  look  of  a  perfect  devil,  as  he  shook  his  fist  at  the 
whole  ship,  while  the  canoe  slid  off  to  the  shore. 

"Budge  even  so  much  as  a  single  fathom,  at  present, 
we  could  not;  and  most  of  us  were  too  much  in  the  spirit 
of  fun  and  venture  to  care  a  fig  for  having  made  an 
enemy  _  of  Don  Jose  So-on,  as  the  cadet  called  him ;  in- 
deed, it  seemed  rather  to  set  a  finer  point  on  people's 
admiration  of  the  green  jungly-looking  shore  next  to  us,  with 
its  big  aloes  and  agaves  growing  before  the  bush,  and  all 
sorts  of  cocoas,  palms,  monkey-bread,  and  tall  white-flaked 
cotton-trees,  rising  in  every  way  out  from  over  the  rest. 
For  my  part,  I  thought  more  of  the  Portuguese's  interest, 
after  all,  than  his  hatred — which  proved  correct,  by  his 
soon  sending  out  a  sulky  message  by  the  mulatto,  offering 
to  sell  us  fowls  and  a  bullock,  at  no  ordinary  price.  How- 
ever, all  hands  from  the  cabin  were  mad  already  to  get 
ashore  somewhere,  and  the  cadets  bristling  with  fowling- 
pieces  and  rifles,  each  singing  out  that  he  was  ready  to 
supply  the  whole  ship  with  fresh  meat;  so  the  mulatto  had 
to  sheer  off,  with  a  boat  nearly  lowered  over  his  head. 


A  SEA  STORY  205 

"From  where  we  lay  at  the  time,  what  with  the  large 
creek  off  one  bow,  and  the  broad  river  ahead  of  us,  spread- 
ing brimful  along  to  the  light,  the  water  had  the  look  of 
a  huge  lake,  fringed  in  by  a  confused  hazy  bluish  outline 
steeping  in  the  heat,  where  the  distance  clipped  behind  the 
lumps  of  keen  verdure,  showering  over  a  dark  mangrove- 
covered  point.  Before  the  two  large  quarter-boats  could 
be  got  ready  for  the  ladies  and  tiie  rest  of  us,  in  fact,  we 
heard  the  gigful  of  writers  and  cadets  beginning  to  pop 
away  at  everything  they  saw  alive,  out  of  sight  of  the 
ship,  till  at  last  we  were  afloat,  too,  pulling  slowly  into  the 
middle  of  the  stream,  and  the  men  eying  us  lazily  as  they 
turned-to  about  the  rigging,  to  send  up  new  spars  in  place 
of  those  lost.  The  old  Indiaman's  big  bows  stood  loom- 
ing up  broad  astern  of  us  on  the  sluggish  eddies  round 
her  cable,  with  her  tall,  steady  forespars  and  furled  yards 
rising  white  against  the  low  line  of  marshy  shore  in  the 
distance,  and  wavering  in  her  shadow  below,  till  the  thick 
green  branches  of  the  next  point  shut  her  out,  and  the 
glare  off  the  face  of  the  creek  shot  level  over  all  of  us  in 
the  two  cutters,  wild  with  every  kind  of  feeling  that  India 
passengers  could  have  after  two  months'  voyage. 

"For  my  own  part,  I  should  have  had  rather  a  sus- 
picion how  absurd  it  was  to  go  a-pleasuriag  in  an  African 
river  we  knew  nothing  about,  especially  when  I  saw  that  a 
day  or  two  so  long  after  the  rains  might  suck  it  up, 
during  ebb,  into  a  pretty  narrow  mid-channel;  all  I  thought 
of  was,  however,  that  I  was  steering  the  boat  with  Violet 
Hyde  in  it,  the  kitmagar  holding  his  gaudy  punkah  over 
her  before  me,  while  the  Judge,  with  his  gun  in  his  hands, 
was  looking  out  as  eagerly,  for  the  time,  as  the  four 
griffins  were  pulling  furiously,  in  spite  of  the  heat  that 
made  the  sweat  run  into  their  eyes. 

"The  other  party  were  soon  off  ahead  of  us  up  the  main 
river,  under  care  of  the  Scotch  surgeon,  laughing,  talk- 
ing, and  hallooing  in  chase  of  the  cadets  who  had  first  left. 
However,  Sir  Charles  thought  there  was  more  likelihood  of 
game  along  the  creek,  and  the  ladies  fancied  it  something 
new,  so  I  steered  right  into  it;  the  fat  midshipman,  Simm, 
watching  me  critically  as  I  handled  the  yokelines  which  he 
had  given  up  to  me  in  a  patronizing  way,  and  the  sailor 
in  the  bow  regarding  the  exertions  of  the  griffins  with 
a  knowingly  serious  expression,  while  he  dabbled  his  flipper 
at  ease  in  the  water. 

"As   the   tide   steadied,   this   said   creek   proved   to   bo   a 


2o6  THE  GREEN  HAND 

smaller  river,  apparently  from  the  hilly  country  I  had 
noticed  beyond  the  woods,  by  the  clearness  of  its  current, 
that  showed  the  pale  yellow  reflection  of  the  close  bamboo- 
brake  on  one  side,  deep  down  into  the  light — the  huge,  sharp, 
green  notched  aloe-leaves  and  fern  showing  here  and  there 
out  of  it — the  close,  rank,  stifling  smell  of  rotten  weeds  and 
funguses  giving  place  to  the  strange  wild  scent  of  the 
flowers,  trailing  and  twisting  in  thick  snaky  coils  up  the 
stems  on  our  opposite  hand,  and  across  from  branch  to 
branch,  with  showers  of  crimson  and  pink  blossoms  and 
white  stars;  still,  eager  as  the  ladies  were  to  put  foot  on 
land,  'twas  no  use  looking  as  yet  for  a  spot  of  room,  let 
alone  going  farther  in. 

"The  cadets  were  not  long  in  being  blown,  either;  when 
the  midshipman,  the  bowman,  and  I  had  to  relieve  them. 
However,  then  I  could  look  straight  toward  Violet  Hyde's 
face,  the  shade  of  the  scarlet  punkah  hanging  over  it,  and 
her  soft  little  straight  nose  and  forehead  catching  a  flicker- 
ing burst  from  the  leaves  as  we  sheered  at  times  under 
cover  of  the  bank;  while  her  eyelids,  dropping  from  the 
glare,  gave  her  bright  eyes  a  half -sleepy  sort  of  violet  look, 
and  it  was  only  her  lips  that  let  you  see  how  excited  she 
felt.  The  griffin  who  had  the  tiller  steering  with  the  judg- 
ment of  a  tailor's  'prentice  on  a  picnic  to  Twickenham,  we 
came  two  or  three  times  crash  into  the  twigs  of  some  half- 
sunk  tree;  then  a  blue  bird  like  a  heron  would  rise  direct 
ahead  of  us,  with  its  tall  wet  spindle  legs  and  spurs  glis- 
tening like  steel  behind  it  into  the  light,  and  a  young  snake 
in  its  sharp  bill;  or  a  gray  crane  rustled  out  of  the  cane 
from  overhead,  its  long  wings  creaking  in  the  air  out  of 
sight.  Suddenly  you  heard  a  long  chirruping  croak  from  a 
tree-frog,  and  the  ground  ones  gave  full  chorus  from 
farther  in,  whining  and  cackling  and  peep-peep-peeping 
in  one  complete  rush  that  died  as  suddenly  away  again,  like 
thousands  of  young  turkeys.  Then  out  in  the  midst  of  the 
quiet  would  come  a  loud  clear  wheetle-wheetling  note  from 
some  curious  fowl  in  an  opening,  with  another  of  the  same 
to  match,  dimmer  amongst  the  thick  of  the  bush.  However, 
everything  of  the  kind  seemed  to  sink  down  with  the  heat 
at  noon,  the  very  buzz  of  flies  round  every  dark  feather 
of  the  cocoas,  and  the  mosquito-hum  along  the  bank,  get- 
ting fainter;  till  one  heard  the  heat,  as  it  were,  creeping 
and  thrilling  down  through  the  woods,  with  the  green  light 
that  steeped  into  both  edges  of  the  long  creek;  every  reed, 
cane,  leaf,  and  twig,  seemingly,  at  last  giving  it  back  again 


A  SEA  STORY  207 

with  a  whispering,  hushing  crackle,  and  the  broad  fans  of 
the  palms  tingling  in  it  with  rays  from  them,  as  they 
trembled  before  you  in  the  glare,  back  into  the  high  bun- 
dles of  knotted  and  jointed  bamboo,  with  their  spiky-tufted 
crowns. 

"  'Can  you  not  almost  feel  the  forest  grow !'  exclaimed 
Miss  Hyde;  while  the  boat  floated  quietly  to  one  side,  and 
her  charming  young  face  shining  out  from  the  punkah, 
before  Master  Gopaul's  dcucedly  ugly  one,  coolly  staring  past 
his  snub  nose,  made  one  think  of  a  white  English  rose  and  a 
black  puff-ball  growing  together  under  a  toadstool;  plenty 
of  which,  as  red  as  soldiers'  coats,  and  as  big  as  targets, 
looked  here  and  there  out  of  the  bank.  It  put  new  spirit 
into  me  to  see  her,  but  still  we  could  do  little  more  than 
shove  across  from  one  side  to  the  other — till  something  all 
at  once  roused  us  up  in  the  shape  of  a  long  scaly-like  log, 
seemingly  lying  along  in  the  sun,  which  tumbled  off  the 
edge  with  a  loud  splash,  and  two  of  the  young  fellows  let 
drive  from  their  fowlingpieces,  just  after  the  alligator  had 
sunk  to  the  bottom.  Bather  uncomfortable  it  was  to 
come  sheering  right  over  him  next  moment,  and  caich  a 
glimpse  of  his  round  red  eyes  and  his  yellow  throat,  as  the 
mud  and  weeds  rose  over  him 

"The  other  ladies  shrieked,  but  Violet  Hyde  only  caught 
hold  of  her  father's  arm  and  started  back ;  though  her  blue 
eye  and  the  clear  cut  of  her  pretty  nostril  opened  out,  too, 
for  the  moment  her  lips  closed.  Five  minutes  after,  when  a 
couple  of  large  guinea-fowl  sprang  up,  Sir  Charles  proved 
himself  a  better  shot  than  the  cadets,  by  dropping  one  of 
them  over  the  water  ahead  of  us,  which  was  laid  hold  of  by 
the  reefer  of  the  Indiaman,  and  stowed  away  fluttering  into 
the  stern-locker — Simm  observing  coolly  that  it  was  a  scav- 
engering  carrion  sort  of  bird,  but  perhaps  one  of  his  mess- 
mates might  like  to  take  it  home  stuffed  to  his  sister. 
The  Judge  merely  smiled  and  patted  the  mid  on  the  shoul- 
der, remarking  in  great  good-humor  that  he,  Simm,  would 
make  a  good  attorney;  and  on  we  held,  soaking  to  our 
shirts  and  panting,  until  the  bowman  hooked  down  the  stem 
of  a  young  plantain,  with  a  huge  bunch  of  full  ripe 
yellow  bananas  under  the  long  flapping  leaves  at  its  head, 
right  into  the  midst  of  us,  out  of  a  whole  clump  of  them, 
where  the  smooth  face  of  the  cove  showed  you  their  scar- 
let clusters  of  flowers  and  green  round  pods  hanging  over  it, 
hidden  as  they  were  from  above.  Every  man  of  us  made  a 
clutch,  and  the  stem  almost  lifted  Simm  out  of  the  boat 


208  THE  GREEN  HAND 

with  it,  as  it  sprang  back  into  the  brake,  rousing  out  a 
shower  of  gaudy-colored  butterflies,  and  a  cloud  of  mosquitoes, 
and  making  the  paroquets  scream  inside;  while  the  cadets' 
mouths  were  so  full  they  could  n't  speak,  the  reefer  making 
a  gulp  with  the  juice  seeming  to  come  out  at  his  eyes,  the 
sailor  spitting  out  his  quid  and  stuffing  in  a  banana,  and  the 
ladies  hoping  they  were  safe  to  eat,  as  I  peeled  the  soft  yellow 
rind  off,  and  handed  one  to  Violet  Hyde,  which  she  tasted  at 
once.  But  if  ever  one  enters  into  the  heart  of  things  in 
the  tropics,  I  'd  say  't  is  when  that  same  delicious  taste  melts 
through  and  through  and  all  over  you,  after  chewing  salt- 
junk  for  a  space.  I  remember  one  foremast  man,  who  was 
always  so  drunk  ashore  he  used  to  remember  nothing  in 
India  but  'scoffing*  one  juicy  benanny,'  as  he  called  it; 
'but  hows'ever,  Jack,'  he  'd  say,  '  't  was  blessed  good,  ye 
know,  and  I  'm  on  the  lookout  for  a  berth  again,  jist  for  to  go 
and  have  another.'  One  of  us  looked  to  the  other,  and  Miss 
Hyde  laughed  and  colored  a  bit  when  I  offered  her  a  second, 
while  her  father  said,  full  five  minutes  after,  '  'Gad,  Violet, 
it  almost  made  me  think  I  saw  Garden  Reach  in  the  Hooghly, 
and  the  Baboo's  Ghaut !' 

"This  whole  time  we  could  n't  have  got  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  where  the  ship  lay,  when  all  at  once 
the  close  growth  on  our  left  hand  began  to  break  into  low 
bush,  and  at  length  a  spot  offered  where  we  might  get  ashore 
tolerably,  with  two  or  three  big  red  ant-hills  heaped  up  out  of 
the  close  prickly-pear  plant,  and  the  black  ants  streaming 
over  the  bank,  as  well  as  up  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree. 
The  monkeys  were  keeping  up  a  chattering  stir  everywhere 
about;  and  two  or  three  bright  green  little  lizards,  changing 
into  purple  and  back  again,  as  they  lay  gleaming  in  the  sun 
on  the  sides  of  the  ant-heaps,  darted  their  long  tongues  out 
like  silver  bodkins  at  the  ants  coming  past.  In  we  shoved 
with  cheer,  and  had  scarce  moored  to  the  tree  ere  the  ladies 
were  being  handed  out  and  tripping  over  the  ground-leaves 
to  the  ankles,  starting  on  again  at  every  rustle  and  prick, 
for  fear  of  snakes;  till  the  bowman  in  charge  was  left  in 
the  boat  by  himself,  and,  there  being  seven  of  us  with 
guns  over  our  arms,  the  next  notion  of  the  griffins  was  to 
get  a  sight  of  some  'natives.' 

"In  fact,  there  was  a  sort  of  a  half-track  leading  off  near 
the  bank,  through  among  the  long  coarse  grass  and  the 
ferny  sprouts  of  young  cocoas,  and  a  wide  stretch  of  open 
country  seen  beyond  it,  dotted  all  over  with  low  clumps 

*Anglice,  eating. 


A  SEA  STORY  209 

of  trees  and  bush  rounded  off  in  the  gush  of  light,  that  gave 
it  all  a  straw-colored  tint  up  to  where  a  bare  reddish- 
looking  ridge  of  hill  looked  over  a  long  swell  of  wild  forest, 
off  a  hot,  pale,  cloudless  sky.  Here  and  there  you  saw  the 
shadow  of  one  bluff  lying  purple  on  the  side  of  another,  and  a 
faint  blue  peak  between,  letting  north'ard  into  some  pass 
through  the  hills,  but  no  signs  of  life  save  a  few  dun  big- 
headed  buffaloes  feeding  about  a  swampy  spot  not  very  far 
off,  and  rather  too  shaggy,  by  all  appearance,  to  make  pleas- 
ant company.  Accordingly,  we  held  for  a  few  yards  under 
the  shade,  where  the  fat  mid,  thinking  to  show  off  his 
knowingness  by  getting  cocoanuts  for  the  ladies,  began  to 
shy  balls  of  mud  from  the  creek-sides  at  the  monkeys  in. 
the  trees. 

"However,  he  brought  us  rather  more  than  he  bargained 
for,  till  the  whole  blessed  jungle  seemed  to  be  gathering 
between  us  and  the  boat  to  pelt  us  to  death  with  nuts  as 
big  as  eighteen-pound  shot,  husks  and  all;  so  off  we  had  to 
hurry  into  the  glare  again,  Sir  Charles  half  carrying  his 
daughter  through  the  guinea-grass  up  to  the  waist — when 
somebody  felt  the  smell  of  smoke,  and  next  minute  we  broke 
out  near  it,  wreathing  up  white  from  inside  a  high  bamboo 
fence,  propped  up  and  tied  all  along  with  cocoanut  husk. 
'What  the  devil !'  shouted  the  foremost  cadet,  as  soon  as 
he  found  the  opening,  'they  're  cannibals ! — roasting  a  black 
child,  by  heaven!'  and  in  he  dashed,  being  no  chicken  of  a 
fellow  ashore,  at  any  rate,  the  others  after  him,  while  the 
Judge,  Simm,  and  I  kept  outside  with  the  ladies,  who 
where  all  of  a  shudder,  of  course,  what  with  the  thought, 
and  what  with  the  queer  scent  of  roast  meat  that  came  to  us. 
'Ha,  ha !'  laughed  the  cadet  next  moment,  'it 's  only  a 
monkey,  after  all ! — come  in,  though,  Sir  Charles,  if  you 
please,  sir — nobody  here,  ladies.' 

"There,  accordingly,  was  the  little  skinned  object  twirl- 
ing slowly  between  two  bamboo  sticks,  over  a  fire  beneath 
two  or  three  immense  green  leaves  on  a  frame,  with  fts  knees 
up  not  to  let  its  legs  burn;  about  a  dozen  half -open  sheds 
and  huts,  like  little  corn-stacks,  thatched  close  with  reeds, 
and  hung  with  wattled  mats  of  split  bamboo,  giving  the 
place  more  the  look  of  a  farmyard  than  a  village;  as  there 
was  a  big  tree  spreading  in  the  middle,  a  few  plantains, 
yams,  and  long  maize-stalks  flowering  out  of  the  coarse 
guinea-grass  which  the  niggers  had  n't  taken  the  trouble  to 
tread  down  all  round  inside  of  the  fence. 

"However,  we  were  n't  long  of  perceiving  an  old,  gray- 


210  THE  GREEN  HAND 

headed  black  sitting  on  his  hams  against  the  post  of  a  hut, 
watching  us  all  the  time;  and  a  villainously  ugly  old  thief 
he  looked,  with  a  string  of  Aggry  beads  about  his  head, 
and  A  greegree  charm-bag  hung  round  his  shrivelled  neck, 
which  was  stuck  through  a  hole  in  some  striped  piece 
of  stuff  that  fell  over  to  his  knees,  as  he  sat  mumbling  and 
croaking  to  himself,  and  leering  out  of  the  yellows  of  his 
eyes,  though  too  helpless  to  stir.  Something  out  of  the  way 
attracted  my  notice,  glittering  in  front  of  the  hut  over  his 
head ;  but,  on  stepping  up  to  it,  I  was  n't  a  little  surprised  to 
find  it  the  stern-board  of  some  small  vessel  or  other,  with 
the  tarnished  gilt  ornament  all  round,  and  the  name  in  large 
white  letters — 'Martha  Cobb' — the  port,  Boston,  still  to  be 
made  cut,  smaller,  below.  This  I  didn't  think  so  much  of 
in  itself,  as  the  craft  might  have  been  lost;  till,  on  noticing 
the  old  fellow's  robe  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  torn 
American  ensign,  in  spite  of  his  growls  and  croaks  I  walked 
past  him  into  the  hut,  where  there  was  a  whole  lot  of 
marline  spikes,  keys,  and  such  like  odds  and  ends,  care- 
fully stored  up  in  a  bag,  marked  with  the  same  name,  be- 
sides a  stewpan  with  some  ostrich  feathers  stuck  in  where  the 
handle  had  been,  as  if  this  rascally  black  sinner  wore  it 
on  his  head  on  state  occasions,  being  probably  the  head  man 
and  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

"What  struck  me  most,  though,  was  a  pocketbook  with  a 
letter  inside  it,  in  a  woman's  hand,  addressed  to  the  master 
of  the  brig  'Martha  Cobb';  dated  a  dozen  years  before,  yel- 
low and  fusty,  and  with  tarry  finger-marks  on  it,  as  if  the 
poor  skipper,  God  knows,  had  read  it  over  and  over  in 
his  cabin  many  a  fresh  breeze  betwixt  there  and  Boston.  I 
put  it  in  my  pocket,  with  a  curse  to  the  old  black  devil,  as  he 
croaked  out  and  fell  on  his  face,  trying  to  bite  me  with 
his  filed  teeth  when  I  passed  out,  to  follow  the  rest  out  of 
the  bamboo-pen;  wondering,  of  course,  where  all  the  negroes 
could  be,  unless  they  were  dodging  about  the  river  shore  to 
watch  the  Indiaman — little  chance  as  there  was  of  their 
trying  the  same  joke  with  the  'Seringapatam'  as  with  the 
'Martha  Cobb.' 

"As  for  the  women,  however,  I  had  scarce  joined  our 
party  going  out,  when  we  met  a  half-naked  black  hag  with  a 
bunch  of  cocoanuts  and  husk.  The  moment  she  saw  us 
she  gave  a  squeal  like  an  old  men,  and  fell  flat,  while 
several  younger  ones,  jogging  along  with  their  naked  black 
pickaninnies  on  their  backs,  turned  tail  and  were  off  with 
a  scream.  Next  minute  we  were  almost  as  startled  as  they 


A  SEA  STORY  211 

could  be  when  three  plump  young  jetty  damsels  dropped 
down  right  into  the  bushes  alongside  of  us,  off  as  many  tall 
cocoas  which  they  'd  been  climbing  by  a  band  round  them, 
for  the  nuts.  'Mercy  on  us !'  said  the  eldest  of  our  lady 
passengers;  and  it  was  rather  queer,  since  they  had  nothing 
earthly  upon  them  save  a  very,  very  short  pet — I  beg  your 
pardon,  ma'am,  but  I  did  n't  know  any  other  word.  However, 
off  they  scampered  for  the  woods,  Simm  and  one  of  the 
cadets  hard  after  them,  and  we  turning  away  to  smother 
our  laughter,  especially  as  the  griffin  had  forgot  his  mother 
being  with  us.  The  middy  being  first  started,  he  was  a 
good  way  ahead,  when  all  at  once  the  sternmost  of  the  black 
girls  tripped  in  the  band  she  had  over  her  shoulder,  Simm 
giving  a  cheer  as  he  made  prize  of  his  chase;  but  scarce 
before  the  whole  three  of  the  dark  beauties  had  him 
smothered  up  amongst  them,  laughing,  yelling,  and  squalling 
as  they  hauled  him  about;  till  I  saw  the  dirk  Simm  sported 
glitter  in  one  of  their  hands,  and  I  made  towards  the  spot 
in  the  notion  of  their  finishing  him  in  right  earnest. 

"The  black  damsels  ran  off  together  as  the  unlucky  reefer 
picked  himself  up,  coming  to  us  with  his  hair  rubbed  up  like 
a  brush,  his  cap  out  of  shape  in  his  hand,  and  the  gold  band 
off  it,  his  red  face  shining,  and  all  the  gilt  anchor-buttons  off 
his  jacket,  besides  being  minus  his  dirk.  'Simm,  Simm,  my 
fine  fellow!'  said  his  friend  the  cadet,  like  to  die  with  laugh- 
ing, 'what — what  did  they  do  to  you? — why,  your  head 
looks  like  a  chimney-sweep's  mop!'  Simm  knocked  his  cap 
against  a  tree  to  set  it  right,  without  a  word,  and  we  fol- 
lowed the  others  to  the  boat,  where  he  swore,  however,  that 
he  'd  kissed  'em  all  three,  at  which  Mrs.  Atkins  fairly  took  him 
a  slap  on  the  side  of  the  head,  saying  he  was  a  nasty, 
improper  boy,  and  she  was  glad  his  poor  mother  could  n't 
see  him  run  after  creatures  of  that  kind  in  African  woods. 
'Natives,  indeed!'  said  she,  'I  have  heard  so  often  of 
native  modesty,  too,  in  books;  but,  after  all,  there's  noth- 
ing like  experience,  I  think,  Sir  Charles?'  'Certainly  not, 
ma'arn,'  replied  the  Judge,  humoring  her,  as  she  hadn't 
often  had  the  chance  of  speaking  to  him  before ;  "t  is  almost 
as  bad  in  India,  though,  you  know.'  'Oh,  there,  Sir  Charles/ 
said  the  lady,  'I  never  happened  to  go  out,  of  course,  except 
in  the  carriage!'  'Ah,'  said  the  Judge,  coolly,  'you  should 
try  an  elephant  sometimes,  ma'am.' 

"After  this,  as  Sir  Charles  was  bent  on  getting  a  shot  at 
something  better,  with  a  glass  or  two  of  Madeira  to  refresh 
us,  we  pulled  farther  still  up  the  small  river,  passing  the 


212  THE  GREEN  HAND 

mouth  of  a  deep  marshy  inlet,  where  I  noticed  a  few  long 
canoes  belonging  to  the  Congo  village  we  had  seen;  the 
close,  heavy  heat  of  the  woods  getting,  if  possible,  worse; 
and  the  rank  green  growth  topping  up  round  us  as  flat 
as  before;  when  the  sound  of  a  loud  rush  of  water  up- 
stream broke  upon  us  through  the  bush  to  northward, 
the  surface  rippling,  and  a  slight  cool  breath  seeming  to 
flutter  across  it  now  and  then,  the  very  noise  putting  fresh 
soul  into  you.  Suddenly  we  opened  out  on  a  broad  bend, 
where  it  was  hard  work  to  force  her  round,  and  next  moment 
a  low  fall  was  gleaming  before  us,  where  a  hill-stream 
came  washing  and  plashing  over  one  wide  rocky  step  above 
another  in  the  turn,  then  sweeping  out  of  a  deep  pool  to 
both  hands,  and  running  away  ahead,  in  between  the  spread 
of  trees,  seemingly  to  a  sort  of  a  lagoon,  where  you  saw 
the  light  in  the  middle  glancing  bright  down  upon  its  face. 
A  broad  blue  burst  of  air  and  light  struck  down  along 
the  hollow  the  stream  rushed  out  of,  off  the  roots  of  a  regu- 
lar mountain,  leaning  back  to  the  sky,  with  its  big  tufted 
knolls  and  its  shady  rifts  thrown  out  blue  beyond  one  or 
two  thick  scaly-stemmed  date-trees,  waving  their  long,  feath- 
ery, fringe-like  leaves  to  the  least  bit  of  a  breeze,  on  as  many 
rough  points  near  at  hand;  the  whole  shape  of  the  mountain 
you  could  n't  see  for  the  huge  mahogany-trees,  teak,  and 
African  oak,  rising  up  over  one  shoulder  into  a  lump  of 
green  forest.  In  five  minutes  more  we  were  through  into  the 
lagoon,  which  very  possibly  took  round  into  the  main  river 
again,  only  the  opposite  end,  to  our  surprise,  was  all  afloat 
with  logs  of  big  timber  choking  it  up,  so  that  there  we  must 
stick  or  go  back  upon  our  wake. 

"However,  the  lagoon  itself  being  broad  enough  and  round 
enough  in  all  conscience,  with  a  deep  hollow  opening  up  out 
of  it  on  the  high  ground,  the  Judge  and  the  cadets  thought  a 
better  place  could  n't  have  been  chosen  for  landing  after  a 
little  sport,  while  we  left  the  fair  ladies  to  rest  in  the  cool, 
and  look  at  the  lotus-lilies  spread  all  over  one  cove  of  it, 
floating  white  on  their  large  leaves.  The  green  edge  of  scum 
ran  about  the  black  shadow  on  the  rest  of  it,  gathering  round 
where  a  big  branch  or  two  had  fallen  in,  with  the  hot  white 
sky  looking  bluer  out  through  the  broad  leaves  coming 
together  aloft,  and  the  showers  of  little  sharp  ones  in  the 
tamarind  twigs,  mangoes,  ironwood,  sumach,  and  all  sorts, 
while  here  and  there  a  knot  of  crimson  blossoms  looked  out 
from  under  the  boughs  in  the  dark,  humming  with  small  flies. 
Beautiful  spot  as  it  was  every  way,  especially  after  the  heat, 


A  SEA  STORY  213 

yet  I  did  n't  much  like  the  idea  of  letting  the  ladies  stay  by 
themselves,  except  the  sailor  and  the  Mtmagar.  Nothing 
particular  had  turned  up  to  trouble  us,  certainly,  but  1  dare 
say  't  was  because  there  was  one  of  them  I  never  looked  at 
without  her  soft  fairy-like  air  making  me  think  of  something 
that  might  happen  to  her,  life-like  though  she  seemed. 
When  I  saw  a  big  branch  over  her  head,  1  kept  fancying 
what  it  would  do  if  it  fell — and  now,  the  thumping  slabs 
and  stones  we  scrambled  over  up  into  the  gully  toward 
the  mountain,  seemed  to  have  come  tumbling  down  off  it 
to  the  very  water's  edge,  covered  with  nets  of  thick  creeping 
plants  and  trails  of  flat,  fingery-leaved  flowers,  such  as 
you  see  in  hot-hoxises  at  home.  A  few  yards  higher,  too, 
where  the  ground  broke  away  into  a  slanting  hollow  out 
of  the  bush,  't  was  all  trampled  and  crushed,  half -withering 
together  in  the  heat  of  the  sun,  the  young  trees  twisted  and 
broken,  and  two  or  three  good-sized  ones  lying  out  from  the 
roots,  which  I  set  to  the  score  of  the  timberers  rolling  down 
their  logs,  for  some  craft  that  evidently  got  their  cargoes 
hereaway. 

"After  all,  the  thought  of  a  slap  at  some  wild  game  was 
tempting  enough,  the  Judge  appearing  to  consider  anyone 
but  a  sportsman  nobody  at  all;  so  up  we  went  behind  him 
out  of  the  gully  till  we  were  all  blowing  like  so  many  por- 
poises on  the  head  of  it,  Sir  Charles  raising  his  finger  as  we 
peeped  across  a  grassy  slope  right  under  us,  where  a  whole 
drove  of  small  slender-legged  antelopes  were  feeding.  We 
had  just  time  to  rest,  getting  a  breath  of  air  off  the  heights, 
when  one  of  the  foremost  lifted  his  head,  listening  the  oppo- 
site way  from  us;  next  moment  the  entire  scatter  of  them 
came  sweeping  direct  over  to  leeward  in  a  string — we  could 
almost  catch  their  bright  black  eyes  through  the  grass,  when 
the  crack  of  our  seven  barrels  turned  them  bolt  off  at  a  corner, 
and  they  were  gone  like  wind  on  water.  All  of  us  had  missed 
save  Sir  Charles  Hyde,  but  his  rifle-bullet  had  sent  one  of  the 
antelopes  springing  up  in  the  air  ten  feet  or  so,  rolling  over 
and  over  into  the  grass  again,  where  we  found  it  lying  with 
its  tongue  out,  and  its  large  eye  glazing  amidst  the  blades 
and  dust — a  pair  of  huge  turkey  buzzards  falling,  as  it  were, 
out  of  two  specks  in  the  sun  above  us,  already,  and  rising 
with  an  ugly  flap  while  we  got  round  the  dead  creature. 

"  'Hallo !'  said  the  mid  suddenly,  looking  back  over 
toward  the  hollow  we  'd  come  out  of,  'what 's  that  ?' 

"Fi-om  where  we  stood  we  could  just  see  through  the  wild 
cane  to  the  mouth  of  the  gully,  half  a  mile  down  or  more, 


214  THE  GREEN  HAND 

leading  upon  the  trees  by  the  lagoon.  I  thought  I  could  hear 
a  dull  heavy  sound  now  and  then  going  thump  thump  down 
the  hollow  and  along  it,  the  stones  rumbling  from  one  spot 
to  another  at  the  root  of  the  hill ;  but  noticing  a  light  smoke 
rising  farther  into  the  course  of  the  creek,  with  a  faint  echo  of 
axes  at  work  somewhere  in  the  woods  below,  I  was  n't  sorry  to 
find  the  timberers  were  still  in  the  river,  showing  we  wore  n't 
the  only  civilized  folks  that  thought  it  fit  to  visit.  Perhaps 
it  might  have  been  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  more,  however, 
and  we  were  all  looking  out  sharp  for  birds  of  any  kind  to 
pop  at,  happening  to  turn  my  head,  I  saw  the  long  reeds 
were  moving  about  the  banks  below  and  the  trees  twisting 
about  furiously,  and  no  sooner  had  I  made  a  few  paces  than, 
good  heavens! — right  in  the  break  of  the  trees  at  the 
landing-place — there  was  a  huge  brute  of  some  sort  coming 
slowly  up  out  of  the  water;  then  another  and  another,  glisten- 
ing wet  in  the  bright  light  as  the  shadow  of  the  branches 
slipped  behind  them.  A  blindness  came  over  my  eyes,  and  1 
had  scarce  time  to  make  out  the  big  block-like  heads  and 
moving  trunks  of  five  or  six  black  African  elephants,  ere  the 
whole  case  flashed  upon  me,  and  away  I  dashed  full-speed 
down  the  slope.  The  big  beasts  were  turning  quietly  off  into 
the  hollow,  and  two  or  three  of  their  calves  trotted  after  them 
out  of  the  bushes,  munching  the  young  cane-stalks  as  they 
lifted  their  pillars  of  legs  and  their  tufty  little  tails,  when  L 
passed  a  fire  of  sticks  blazing  under  a  slab  of  rock,  with 
the  Judge's  guinea-fowl  plucked  and  roasting  before  it  from 
a  string,  the  bowman's  tarpaulin  and  his  pipe  lying  near  by — 
a  sight  that  doubled  the  horror  in  me,  to  know  he  had  left 
the  boat  at  all;  and  no  doubt,  as  I  thought,  taken  fright 
and  run  off,  man-o'-war's-man  though  he  was.  I  made  three 
springs  over  the  stones  down  to  the  water,  terrified  to  look 
in,  hearing  it,  as  I  did,  splash  and  wash  about  the  sides,  up 
among  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  while  a  couple  of  monstrous 
brutes  were  to  be  seen  by  the  light  in  the  midst  of  it,  still 
wallowing  about,  and  seeming  to  enjoy  sending  the  whole 
pool  in  wide  rings  and  waves  as  far  as  it  would  go,  with  the 
noise  besides;  the  one  half  swimming  and  the  biggest  stand- 
ing aground  as  he  poured  the  water  out  of  his  long  trunk 
all  over  his  back,  then  broke  off  a  branch  and  waved  it  to  and 
fro  like  a  fan  round  his  flapping  leathery  ears. 

"Such  a  moment  I  hope  never  to  know  again — not  the 
least  sign  of  the  boat  could  I  see  in  the  green  black  blink  of 
the  place,  after  the  glare  above,  and  I  stood  like  a  madman  at 
the  thought  of  what  the  herd  of  monsters  had  done  when 


A  SEA  STORY  215 

they  came  suddenly  down  upon  it;  then  I  gave  a  wild  cry, 
and  levelled  my  ship's  musket  at  the  big  elephant's  head  as 
he  brought  his  small  cunning  eye  slowly  to  bear  upon  me, 
dropped  the  branch,  and  began  to  swing  his  forehead,  all 
the  time  looking  at  me,  and  wading  out  to  the  shallow — 
by  Jove !  my  flesh  creeps  at  it  just  now — though  I  could  n't 
have  stirred  for  worlds  till  he  was  close  enough  for  me  to  fire 
into  that  devilish  eye  of  his.  'T  was  no  more  than  the 
matter  of  half  a  minute — till  you  may  fancy  what  I  felt  to 
catch  sight,  all  at  once,  of  the  cutter  splashing  up  and  down 
in  the  gloom  below  the  branches,  the  ladies  and  the  Hindoo 
crouching  down  terrified  together,  except  Violet  Hyde,  who 
stood  straight,  holding  the  boat  firm  in  by  a  bough,  her  white 
face  fixed  through  the  shadow,  and  her  hair  floating  out  of 
her  straw  bonnet  each  time  her  head  went  up  among  the 
leaves,  with  her  glittering  eyes  on  the  two  elephants. 

"Suddenly  some  heavy  black  figure  dropped  almost  right 
over  her  into  the  boat,  and  she  let  go  with  a  low  cry,  and  sank 
down  with  her  hands  over  her  eyes;  when  they  went  sheering 
out  towards  the  creek,  the  foretopman  handling  his  boat-hook 
in  her  bow,  without  his  tarpaulin.  As  for  the  wild  elephants, 
I  had  just  time  to  come  to  myself  before  the  foremost  had  his 
feet  on  the  stones  below  me,  getting  cautiously  out  of  the 
pool;  these  awkward  antics  of  theirs  being  possibly  signs  of 
too  much  satisfaction  in  a  bathe  for  them  to  show  aught  like 
fury,  if  you  did  n't  rouse  them ;  so  I  was  slipping  quietly 
round  the  nearest  tree  when  I  heard  the  cadets  halloing  up  the 
hill.  The  old  bull  elephant  seemed  a  dangerous  customer  to 
meet,  and  I  was  hurrying  over  the  dead  grass  and  branches  to 
give  warning,  just  as  Sir  Charles  Hyde  could  be  seen  coming 
down  before  the  rest,  his  rifle  over  his  shoulder. 

"However,  he  brought  up  the  moment  I  sang  out  to  stop : 
both  the  elephants  were  stalking  off  lower  down  into  the 
hollow,  and  I  dropped  behind  the  slab  where  Tom  Wilkes  had 
been  roasting  his  bird,  when  some  fool  of  a  cadet  let  drive  at 
the  bull  elephant  from  above,  hitting  him  fair  on  the  front. 
You  heard  the  rifle-bullet  hit  slap  against  it  as  if  on  an  anvil: 
the  she  elephant  made  off  at  a  fast  trot,  but  the  big  bruto  him- 
self turned  round  on  the  moment,  lifting  up  his  trunk  straight 
aloft  with  a  sharp  trumpeting  scream  through  it,  and  looked 
round  till  his  small  red  eye  lighted  on  the  Judge,  who  seemed 
quite  out  of  breath  from  his  sport. 

"  'The  fire !  that  fire,  for  God's  sake,  Mr.  Westwood,  else  1 
am  lost!'  called  out  Sir  Charles,  in  a  calm  distinct  key  from 
where  he  stood  with  his  eye  fixed  on  the  elephant,  and  could 


216  THE  GREEN  HAND 

see  me,  too — a  moment  or  two  before  the  huge  round-backed 
lump  of  a  brute  came  running  round  into  the  track,  stumbling 
heavily  up  the  dead  branches  of  the  fallen  trees  and  the  dry 
guinea-grass,  with  a  savage  roar  between  his  two  white  tusks 
— and  I.  saw  what  the  Judge  meant  just  in  time  to  throw  over 
the  whole  heap  of  flaming  cocoa-tree  husk  among  the  withered 
grass  and  stuff  a  few  yards  before  the  monster,  as  dry  as 
tinder,  while  the  light  air  coming  down  the  gully  of  the 
mountain,  drove  it  spreading  across  his  course  up  through 
the  twigs,  and  sweeping  in  one  sudden  gust  of  fire  up  to  the 
very  end  of  his  trunk.  I  saw  it  lift  over  the  smoke  like  a 
black  serpent,  then  another  scream  from  the  brute,  and  away 
he  was  charging  into  the  hollow  again,  the  flame  licking  up 
among  the  grass  astern  of  him,  and  darting  from  one  bough 
to  another  towards  the  cane-brake  below.  I  had  scarce 
drawn  a  long  breath,  and  remembered  the  devil's  own  thought 
that  had  come  into  my  head,  when  the  Judge  called  to  me,  ere 
he  slapped  me  on  the  shoulder. 

"  'You  did  nobly  there,  my  dear  boy,'  said  Sir  Charles ; 
'managed  it  well !  'Gad,  it  was  a  crisis,  though,  Mr.  West- 
wood  !'  'I  'm  afraid,  however,  sir,'  said  I,  eying  the  crackling 
bushes,  smoking  and  whitening  to  a  dead  smoulder  in  the 
sunlight,  then  flashing  farther  down  as  the  hill-breeze  rustled 
off,  'I  'm  afraid  we  shall  have  the  woods  burning  about  our 
ears !' 

"Down  we  hurried  accordingly,  and  hailed  the  cutter, 
where,  scarce  had  we  leisure  to  pass  a  few  quick  words  and 
tumble  in,  before  I  heard  a  shout  beyond  the  other  turn  of  the 
creek,  through  the  end  of  the  lagoon;  then  something  like  the 
cheep  of  ropes  through  blocks,  with  the  bustle  of  men's  feet 
on  a  deck,  and  next  minute  a  perfect  hubbub  of  cries,  whether 
Dutch,  Portuguese,  English,  or  all  together,  I  could  n't  say — 
only  it  was  n't  likely  the  last  would  kick  up  such  a  bother  for 
nothing.  Four  or  five  Kroomen  came  leaping  round  and  along 
the  float  of  logs  at  the  far  end,  their  large  straw  hats  shining 
in  the  light  over  their  jet  faces,  as  they  peered  across  into  the 
lagoon.  The  minute  after  they  vanished  we  saw  the  white 
upper  spars  of  a  schooner  slide  above  the  farthest  of  the  wood, 
and  her  bowsprit  shoved  past  the  turn  just  enougli  to  show 
her  sharp  lead-colored  bow,  with  the  mouth  of  a  gun  out  of 
a  port,  and  a  fellow  blowing  the  red  end  of  his  match  behind 
it.  All  at  once  the  chorus  of  shouts  and  cries  ceased,  and  a 
single  voice  sang  out  along  the  water,  clear,  stern,  and  start- 
ling, in  bad  Portuguese,  'Queren  siete?  who  are  you'f  Still 
we  gave  no  answer,  quietly  shoving  off  as  fast  as  we  could,  the 


A  SEA  STORY  217 

flicker  of  the  fire  in  the  brake  behind  the  trees  beginning  to 
show  itself  through  the  black  shade  of  the  lagoon.  'Queren 
siete?'  sang  out  the  voice,  louder  than  before,  in  a  threatening 
way,  and  the  logs  were  knocking  and  plashing  before  the 
schooner  as  the  Kroomen  hauled  at  them  to  make  an  opening. 
'Amigos!  Amigos!'  hailed  we  in  turn;  'Ingleses,  gentle- 
men!' shouted  the  cadet  who  knew  Portuguese,  calling  to 
them  not  to  fire,  for  heaven's  sake,  else  they  would  do  us  some 
harm.  With  this,  the  hubbub  was  worse  than  before;  they 
plainly  had  some  design  on  us,  from  the  confusion  that  got 
up;  but  by  that  time  we  were  pulling  hard  into  the  narrow 
of  the  river,  and  took  the  fair  current  of  it  as  soon  as  the  boat 
was  past  the  falling  stream  we  had  seen  before,  till  we  were 
round  into  the  next  reach. 

"In  fact,  the  rate  we  all  bent  our  backs  at  this  time  was 
pretty  different  from  coming  up :  the  cadets  seemed  hardly 
to  feel  the  heat,  fierce  and  close  though  it  was,  at  thought  of 
those  that  might  be  in  our  wake,  and  nobody  spoke  a  word  at 
ease  till  at  last,  after  an  hour's  hard  work,  taking  it  in  turns, 
we  came  full  in  sight  of  the  Indiaman  at  her  anchor  on  the 
broad  current.  The  ladies  blessed  the  very  ropes  hanging 
from  her  bowsprit,  and  we  got  safe  aboard,  where  we  found 
the  two  other  boats  had  come  back  long  before ;  and  every  one 
of  us  turned  in  directly  after  sundown,  as  tired  as  dogs. 

"Well,  I  did  n't  suppose  I  had  slept  an  hour,  dreaming 
terribly  wild  sort  of  dreams  about  Violet  Hyde  and  elephants, 
then  that  I  'd  saved  her  myself,  and  was  stooping  to  kiss  her 
rosy  lips,  when  a  sudden  noise  on  deck  startled  me.  1  shoved 
myself  into  my  clothes,  and  rushed  on  the  quarter-deck.  She 
had  gone  aground  at  her  stern  in  swinging  in  the  water 
the  Portuguese  rascal  gave  her,  canted  a  little  over  to 
starboard,  away  from  the  shore;  and  till  morning  flood 
nothing  could  be  done  to  haul  her  off.  The  fog  was  rolling 
down  with  the  land-breeze,  and  the  jabber  in  the  woods  again 
thickened  the  confusion,  when  all  at  once  a  dim  flash  off  the 
shore  glimmered  in  the  white  fog,  and  a  round-shot  whistled 
just  astern,  pretty  well  aimed  for  her  bilge,  which  would  have 
cost  us  some  work  if  it  had  hit.  After  that,  however,  there 
was  no  more  of  it,  the  fellow  probably  having  spent  either 
all  his  powder  or  his  balls.  As  for  his  fort,  I  heard  the  chief 
officer  swearing  he  would  knock  it  about  his  ears  next  day — 
a  thing  that  could  n't  have  done  him  much  harm,  certainly, 
unless  mud  were  dear. 

"No  sooner  had  the  men  gone  below,  leaving  the  ordinary 
anchor-watch,  than  Mr.  Finch,  to  my  great  surprise,  walked 


2i8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

up  to  me,  and  gave  me  a  strange,  suspicious  look,  hinting  that 
he  began  to  have  a  good  guess  of  what  I  really  was,  but  if  any- 
thing new  of  the  kind  turned  up,  said  he,  he  should  know 
better  what  to  say  to  me.  'Mr.  Finch,'  said  I,  starting,  'this 
won't  do,  sir — you  '11  either  speak  your  mind  before  cabin  and 
cuddy,  or  to-morrow  morning,  by  Jove !  you  '11  go  quietly 
ashore  with  me,  sir — as  I  think,  now  you  remind  me  of  it,  we 
settled  to  do,  already !'  The  mate's  face  whitened,  and  he  eyed 
me  with  a  glare  of  malice,  as  I  turned  on  my  heel  and  began 
to  walk  the  quarter-deck  till  he  went  below. 

"However,  the  thought  of  the  thing  stuck  to  me,  and  1 
kept  walking  in  the  dark  to  get  rid  of  it:  the  four  or 
five  men  of  the  anchor-watch  shuffling  lazily  about,  and 
all  thick  save  ahead  up  the  river,  where  the  land-breeze 
blew  pretty  strong,  bringing  now  and  then  a  faint  gleam  out 
of  the  mist.  I  was  leaning  against  the  fore-chains,  listening 
to  the  ebb-tide,  and  thinking,  when  I  saw  one  of  the  men 
creeping  in  from  the  bowsprit,  which  you  just  saw,  where  it 
ran  up  thick  into  the  dusk,  with  scarce  a  glimpse  of  the  jib- 
boom  and  flying-jib-boom  beyond. 

"The  sailor  came  up,  touching  his  hat  to  me,  and  said  he 
thought  he  saw  something  queer  off  the  boom-end.  'Well,' 
said  I  gruffly,  'go  and  tell  your  mate,  then.'  I  did  n't  know 
the  fellow's  voice,  though  it  had  a  particular  twang  in  it,  and 
he  was  n't  in  Jacobs'  watch,  I  knew.  'Why,  your  honor,' 
he  persisted,  'I  knows  pretty  well  what  you  air — asking  your 
pardon,  sir — but  I  think  you  'd  make  more  out  of  it  nor  any 
of  the  mates !  It 's  some  'at  rather  skeary,  sir,'  added  he. 
Accordingly  I  took  hold  of  the  man-ropes  and  swung  myself 
up  the  bowsprit,  and  had  my  feet  on  the  foot-rope  below  the 
jib-boom,  when  I  heard  his  breath,  following  behind  me. 
'Never  you  trouble  yourself,  my  man,'  said  I;  'one  at  a 
time!'  and  back  he  went  inboard  again — for  something 
curious  in  his  way  struck  me;  but  I  wanted  to  see  what  he 
meant.  I  had  just  got  near  the  flying-jib,  half-stowed  in  as 
it  was  on  the  boom,  and  I  fancied,  with  a  creep  of  my  blood 
in  me,  I  made  out  a  man's  head  -over  the  sail;  but  next 
moment  a  hand  like  a  vise  caught  me  by  the  throat,  and  some 
one  growled  out,  'Now  ye  infernal  man-o'-war  hound,  1  have 
ye — and  down  you  goes  for  it !' 

"The  instant  I  felt  it,  my  coolness  came  back;  as  for 
grappling,  I  couldn't,  and  the  ebb  current  ran  below  to  her 
bows  at  a  rate  fit  to  carry  one  out  to  sea  in  half  an  hour. 
I  saw  the  whole  plot  in  a  twinkling,  and  never  moved; 
instead  of  that  I  gave  a  sort  of  laugh,  and  followed  the 


A  SEA  STORY  219 

husky  twang  of  the  other  man  to  a  tee.  'He  won't  come, 
Harry,  my  lad!'  said  I,  and  my  ugly  friend  let  go  before 
he  had  time  to  think  twice.  'He  be  blowed!'  said  Harry, 
scornfully;  'an'  why  won't  he,  mate'f  He  had  scarce  the 
words  out  of  his  mouth,  though,  ere  I  took  him  a  twist 
that  doubled  him  over  the  spar,  and  down  he  slipped,  hang- 
ing by  a  clutch  of  the  sail.  'I  suppose,  my  fine  fellow,' 
said  I,  'you  forgot  Fernando  Po,  and  those  nigger  adventures 
of  yours — eh  ?'  and  I  went  in  without  more  ado. 

"I  had  n't  been  ten  minutes  on  deck,  however,  when  I 
heard  both  of  them  swearing  something  or  other  to  the  first 
mate.  A  little  after  Finch  came  forward  to  me,  with  a  ship's 
lantern,  and  three  or  four  of  the  men  behind.  'Mr.  Collins,  or 
whatever's  your  name,  sir,'  said  he  aloud,  'I  believe  you  've 
been  seen  just  now  at  the  bowsprit-end,  making  signals  or 
something  to  the  shore !  You  're  in  arrest  at  once,  sir,  and  no 
more  about  it !'  'What  the  deuce !'  said  I,  my  blood  up,  and 
pulling  out  a  pair  of  pocket-pistols  I  had  had  in  the  boat,  'let 
me  see  the  man  to —  '  At  the  moment  a  blow  of  a  handspike 
from  near  the  mast  laid  me  senseless  on  the  deck,  and  I  knew 
nothing  more. — But  I  see  't  is  too  far  gone  in  the  night  to 
carry  out  the  yarn,  ladies ! 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

"WELL,  ma'am,"  resumed  the  commander,  "I  came  to  myself 
again  at  last,  but  when,  how,  or  where,  I  really  did  not  know, 
nor  even  what  had  been  the  matter  with  me;  except  that  1 
lay  on  my  back  upon  something  or  other  softer  than  the 
planks,  my  head  aching  like  to  split,  and  so  stupid,  I  could  n't 
take  the  trouble  to  choose  amongst  the  strange  notions  that 
came  creeping  over  me.  'T  was  pitch-dark,  too,  and  choking 
hot.  The  sole  wish  I  had  was  for  a  drop  of  water;  but  there 
I  stuck  in  the  same  helpless  plight,  more  like  a  nightmare 
than  aught  else;  and  as  for  time,  if  it  went  by  what  1  felt, 
why,  I  might  have  lain,  then  and  before,  long  enough  for  one 
of  the  Seven  Sleepers.  First  one  fancy,  and  then  another, 
came  looming  up  from  over  my  brain,  like  a  sail  on  the 
horizon,  till  my  head  was  full  of  it.  That  ugly  rascal's  story 
got  hold  of  me,  and  I  thought  I  was  stowed  away  below  in 
some  abominable  slaver;  then  I  was  the  sick  captain  lying  in 
my  cot  dreaming,  with  all  as  still  and  dark  as  death.  As  my 


220  THE  GREEN  HAND 

wits  cleared,  however,  I  began  to  hear  plenty  of  sounds,  as  it 
were,  buzzing  and  rustling  and  booming  in  my  very  ears, 
then  far  away  again.  Confused  though  1  was,  a  horrid  idea 
struck  me  as  I  tried  to  listen — that  Finch  and  his  under- 
strappers had  put  me  ashore  in  the  woods,  or  handed  me  over 
to  some  of  those  villainous  blacks  with  the  filed  teeth ;  and  the 
'Seringapatam'  must  be  gone,  Heaven  knew  how  long ! 

"Suddenly,  as  if  to  clinch  my  notion,  I  started  for  a 
moment  at  the  loud  cry  of  a  bell-bird,  as  I  thought  at  first; 
but,  the  next  instant,  a  sort  of  a  thick  crust  seemed  to  clear 
off  my  hearing,  and  I  knew  it  was  'two  bells'  going  on  deck, 
so  that  I  was  still  on  board;  after  which  a  regular  bustle  got 
up  of  a  sudden  overhead.  I  heard  people  running  up  the 
nearest  ladder  from  below;  cadets  shouting  and  chattering, 
apparently  with  muskets  and  cutlasses;  the  creak  of  the 
davit-blocks  letting  down  the  boats,  and  the  chief  officer's 
voice  alongside.  What  with  my  broken  head,  though,  and  the 
want  of  air  and  water,  I  felt  too  sick  to  give  them  a  thought. 
It  was  n't  long,  either,  before  the  whole  Indiaman  seemed  to 
be  as  quiet  as  a  church,  except  one  heavy  pair  of  feet  en  the 
quarter-deck  above;  then  that  stopped  as  well,  and  1  heard 
nothing  but  the  dull  sound  of  the  tide  through  her  thick 
outer-timbers,  gurgling  up  and  poppling  along,  like  to  make 
me  mad  for  thirst.  I  put  up  my  hand  to  my  head,  and  found 
my  hair  011  one  side  all  sticky,  and  covered  with  cockroaches ; 
but  though  the  very  touch  of  their  bristly  feelers  made  my 
blood  creep,  and  the  wretches  began  to  dig  with  their  pincers 
into  the  wound,  I  was  too  weak  to  keep  brushing  them  away 
as  fast  as  they  swarmed  about  it. 

"It  must  have  been  rather  some  sort  of  swoon  than  a  doze 
that  I  woke  out  of  again,  when  I  heard  a  man's  voice  not  far 
off,  through  the  stillness  of  the  'tween-decks,  reading  aloud, 
which  I  soon  made  out  to  be  Mr.  Knowles's,  the  missionary's ; 
and,  from  the  key  of  it,  it  was  evidently  the  Bible  he  was 
reading.  In  a  little  while  he  gave  up,  and  another  voice 
came  in,  that  I  knew  still  better.  It  was  Violet  Hyde's — low 
enough,  but  so  clear  at  times,  that  it  seemed  to  come  into  the 
dark  where  I  lay  half -senseless,  and  afterwards  1  could  even 
call  back  some  of  the  very  words;  then  it  came  to  a  stand, 
and  I  heard  her  two  or  three  times  apparently  answering 
some  one  I  could  n't  hear.  All  at  once,  tne  missionary  struck 
up  the  first  note  of  a  psalm-tune,  and  her  lovely  voice  slid 
into  it,  till -there  was  nothing  in  the  whole  ship,  as  it  were, 
but  fhat — singing  the  old  Evening  Hymn — alone — such  mu- 
sic, I  thought,  never  was  on  sea  or  land — when  down  from 


A  SEA  STORY  221 

some  opening  above,  out  of  heaven,  you  might  have  fancied, 
fell  a  chorus  like  the  sounds  of  angels  and  cherubs  joining  in 
at  the  end,  once  and  again;  catching  up  the  air  out  of  her 
sweet  tongue,  and  drowning  it  in  a  way  to  ravish  one's  soul, 
till  it  sank  into  a  hush  in  which  you  could  hear  the  mission- 
ary's voice  rise,  as  he  prayed  aloud,  over  the  whispers  of  the 
ladies  and  children  stealing  away  from  round  the  skylight — 
with  the  slight  creak  of  the  rudder,  now  and  then,  in  its  case 
abaft,  and  the  tide  bumping  and  tapping  outside,  from  the 
deadwood  at  her  counter  to  the  hollow  planking  amidships. 

"As  for  me,  at  first  blush  I  thought  it  all  a  part  of  my  queer 
visions,  till  somehow  or  other  I  began  to  revive  a  bit,  and  felt 
for  the  door  of  the  place  they  had  boxed  me  up  into.  How- 
ever, it  was  fast  enough,  and  as  soon  as  I  tried  to  stand 
upright,  something  over  my  head  gave  me  a  shove  down  again 
— it  being  evidently  one  of  the  steward's  store-rooms  abaft  of 
the  cuddy,  full  of  bags  and  such  like  lumber,  where  the  best  I 
could  do  was  to  stretch  myself  on  the  heap  of  old  canvas 
again,  groaning  from  sheer  weakness  and  desperation.  Just 
then  I  heard  a  light  step  coming  close  past  the  door,  out  of 
the  large  cabin,  and  I  gave  another  groan.  A  dress  rustled, 
and  the  foot  started  to  the  other  side  of  the  passage. 

"'For  God's  sake  open  the  door!'  said  I,  in  a  faint  voice. 
'What — who — is  there?'  exclaimed  Miss  Hyde,  anxiously; 
but  my  mouth  was  so  dry  I  could  n't  answer  her.  Next 
moment  she  was  trying  the  handle,  though  to  no  purpose ;  for 
a  little  after  I  caught  the  sound  of  her  footsteps  hastening  off 
and  once  more  my  senses  left  me.  It  could  n't  have  been  more 
than  a  minute  or  two,  however,  for  I  heard  the  missionary's 
voice  still  praying  beside  Captain  Williamson's  cot,  when  a 
gush  of  air  suddenly  revived  me,  and  I  sat  up  winking  at  a 
glare  of  light,  in  which  Violet  Hyde's  face  seemed  to  be 
hovering  brighter  than  the  lamp  she  had  in  her  two  hands,  as 
she  stood  and  gazed  at  me  between  wonder  and  dismay ;  while 
the  steward  held  the  door  only  half  open  behind  her,  peeping 
in  at  me  with  one  eye  like  a  fellow  watching  a  hyena  in  a  cage, 
'Miss ! — miss !'  said  he,  trying  to  shove  the  door  to  again, 
'take  care — he  's  a  pirate,  ma'am,  he  is !  The  chief  officer  '11 
blow  me  up  for  it,  your  ladyship  I'  'Mr.  Westwood !'  ex- 
claimed she,  pushing  it  wide  in  spite  of  him,  'what — what  is 
this! — you  are  all  over  blood,  Mr.  Westwood!  Oh,  are  you 
wounded  ? — what  can  be — run,  run  for  something,'  said  she  to 
the  steward — 'where  is  the  surgeon  ?'  'The  doctor 's  gone 
with  the  rest  of  'em,  miss,'  said  he.  With  this  I  took  hold  of 
something  to  scramble  up,  bringing  down  a  bag  of  cabin- 


222  THE  GREEN  HAND 

biscuit  over  me,  and  got  on  my  legs  in  the  midst  of  the  dust; 
but  grim  enough  I  must  have  looked,  with  my  face  like  a 
North  American  Indian's,  and  the  cockroaches  sticking  in  my 
hair,  as  I  stumbled  out  of  the  corner.  The  little  cockney  of 
a  steward  seemed  to  think  me  dangerous,  for  all  1  saw  of  him 
next  moment  was  his  striped  gingham  jacket  vanishing  round 
a  bulkhead  aft.  'Oh,'  stammered  I,  leaning  against  the  door- 
post, 'it 's — it 's  nothing,  after  all — only — a  little  water !'  The 
truth  was,  my  brain  felt  so  confused  still,  that  1  really  was 
not  quite  sure  how  the  case  stood — whether  I  had  n't  in  fact 
bowsed  up  my  jib  too  taut  that  night,  and  tumbled  on  my 
head,  or  kicked  up  some  row  or  other — so  I  suppose  1  must 
have  looked  rather  ashamed,  which  the  young  lady  appeared 
to  notice,  by  the  expression  of  her  face  as  she  moved  towards 
the  cuddy,  and  slipped  quietly  through  one  of  the  folding- 
doors.  'Plush !'  said  she  gravely,  holding  up  her  finger,  as 
she  came  out  again  and  closed  it,  carrying  a  couple  of  decan- 
ters and  a  glass;  'poor  Captain  Williamson  seems  asleep — he 
was  removed  there  this  evening  for  air.'  As  I  drank  one 
tumbler  of  water  after  another,  I  fancied  the  young  lady 
watched  me  curiously;  however,  I  had  scarce  quenched  my 
thirst  when  my  own  ideas  got  clear  enough,  as  well  as  my 
tongue,  to  give  an  offhand  account  of  what  had  happened. 
Violet  Hyde  started,  and  her  voice  faltered,  as  she  said, 
'Then — then  you  must,  have  been  shut  up  here  all  day — oh, 
how  cruel  of  them!  so  hot,  too!  Oh,  what  a  wonder  you 
were  not  actually —  'All  day!'  said  I — 'what  day  is  it, 
then,  Miss  Hyde?'  'It  is  Sunday  evening!'  answered  she, 
the  tears  rushing  somehow  or  other  into  her  eyes.  'Oh,  how 
glad  I  am  that  I  happened  to  pass !  But  your  head — what  a 
dreadful  wound  you  must  have  got,  Mr.  Westwood  F  con- 
tinued she;  'something  must  be  done  to  it,  indeed!' 

"What  the  sweet  young  creature  hesitated  and  blushed 
about  for  the  first  time,  I  never  guessed ;  but  I  can't  help 
thinking  that  anything  short  of  an  angel  would  have  laughed 
at  the  ridiculous  figure  I  must  have  cut,  with  powdered 
biscuit  added  to  the  blood,  the  hair,  and  the  cockroaches — 
although  my  worthy  friend's  handspike  from  behind  the 
foremast  had  laid  the  bone  bare,  so  that  the  bleeding  saved  it 
from  a  lump.  I  hardly  know  how  it  came  about,  but,  five 
minutes  after,  there  I  was  sitting  on  the  planks  of  the 
'tween-decks,  while  the  charming  girl  herself  stooped  over  me 
with  a  basin  in  one  hand  and  a  sponge  in  the  other — the  mus- 
lin sleeves  tucked  half  up  off  her  two.  round  white  arms,  as  she 
began  to  wash  the  blood  carefully  off  the  place.  I  could  n't 


A  SEA  STORY  223 

stand  it  a  minute,  however.  To  feel  her  fairy  fingers  soiling 
themselves  in  such  dirty  work,  for  such  a  fellow  as  me,  Ned 
Collins,  made  me  shiver  all  over;  so  bolt  upright  I  started, 
carrying  away  the  sponge  in  the  neck  of  my  coat,  and  squeez- 
ing a  teacupful  of  water  down  my  back  at  every  wriggle — 
while  my  lovely  sick-nurse  stood  with  one  pretty  little  wrist 
out,  betwixt  alarm  lest  she  had  hurt  me,  and  surprise  at  my 
life-like  condition.  After  giving  my  face  a  wipe,  however, 
and  swallowing  a  glass  or  two  of  wine,  with  some  of  the  bis- 
cuit I  had  knocked  down,  I  felt  wonderfully  well,  except  for 
an  ache  at  the  top  of  my  head.  The  next  thing  that  occurred 
to  me,  of  course,  was  to  have  my  friend  the  mate  made  aware 
of  his  mistake;  but  as  for  the  curious  quietness  of  the  Jndia- 
man  at  that  hour,  even  of  a  Sunday  evening,  I  could  n't  un- 
derstand it,  and  I  looked  for  a  cap  to  go  on  deck  with 
immediately.  The  young  lady  seemed  to  be  looking  up  the 
after-hatchway,  and  listening,  I  thought,  and  the  lady  passen- 
gers could  be  heard  talking  about  the  poop;  but  when  Violet 
Hyde  turned  round,  and  our  eyes  met  again,  I  caught  an 
anxious  expression  in  them  that  puzzled  me.  'Do  you  think 
it  will  be  long  before  we  shall  hear  them?'  said  she,  next 
moment.  'Who? — whom?'  asked  I  hastily.  'Oh!'  said  she, 
starting,  'you  could  not  have  known  they  had  gone,  Mr.  West- 
wood.  Tell  me,  Mr.  Westwood,'  said  she,  coming  nearer  to 
me,  putting  her  hand  lightly  on  my  arm,  and  glancing  into  my 
face,  'tell  me,  did  you  not  know  that  that  vessel  was  in  the 
river?'  'Vessel,  Miss  Hyde?'  I  said,  looking  at  her  steadily 
in  turn.  'It 's  all  one  riddle  to  me — what  vessel  do  you  mean, 
madam?'  'The — the  pirate!'  exclaimed  she  breathlessly;  and 
turning  towards  the  hatchway  again,  while  I  stood  eying  her 
stupidly,  all  abroad,  so  to  speak.  'For  heaven's  sake,  tell  me 
what  you  mean,  Miss  Hyde !'  said  I,  putting  my  hand  to  my 
head.  'Ah,  but  you  look  so  white — you  are  not  well  yet,  sir/ 
said  she  softly.  'To  think  how  all  the  passengers  were 
amused,  and  even  papa  too,  when  they  heard  this  morning  of 
your  being  arrested  as  a — a —  -  But  nobody  could  know  you 
were  so  hurt,  Mr.  Westwood.  Then  when  some  of  the  sailors 
came  back,  and  said  they  had  seen  the  French  ship  in 
disguise  —  -'  'By  Jupiter !  the  brig  they  meant  ?'  i  broke  out. 
'Then.good  heavens !  they  must  have  painted  her  lead-color, 
and  turned  her  back  into  a  schooner!  That  was  she,  for  a 
thousand!'  'And,  you  know,  yesterday  morning,  sir,'  con- 
tinued the  young  lady /you  told  me  you  knew  our  friends  were 
there,  instead  of  being  lost,  as  we  thought!' 

"  'Yes,  yes !'  said  I,  'there  must  be  some  bad  scheme  at 


224  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  bottom — but  by  morning  we  '11  have  a  slap  at  them,  for 
certain.  For  my  part  I  feel —  'Why,'  said  Miss  Hyde, 
turning  anxiously  to  me,  'almost  everybody  in  the  ship  has 
gone  already.  Whenever  the  truth  was  discovered,  there  was 
such  a  confusion  amongst  the  gentlemen  and  the  officers  that 
they  could  not  think  of  anything  else ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  sun 
had  s-et,  they  all  crowded  into  the  boats  and  went  away 
together,  to  surprise  the  pirates  in  the  dark.'  'Good  God!' 
exclaimed  I,  in  sheer  amazement,  and  making  toward  the 
hatchway.  'Miss  Hyde!  do  you  say  so! — How  many  were 
there  then,  ma'am  f  I  asked.  'Oh,'  said  she  quickly,  'I  am 
so  glad  there  was  such  a  number — five  boats'  quite  full,  1 
believe.  Not  a  single  gentleman  would  stay,  except  little 
Tommy's  father,  who  is  upstairs — and  papa  was  one  of  the 
first  to  get  down  into  a  boat  with  his  rifle.  But  do  you  not 
think,'  added  she,  with  somewhat  of  a  tremble  in  her  voice — 
'do  you  not  think  the  people  in  the  French  ship  will  yield,  or 
at  least  give  our  friends  up  ?' 

"  'I  hope  to  goodness  they  may !'  said  I,  turning  away  from 
the  eagerness  those  soft  eyes  of  hers  glittered  with,  as  she 
leaned  out  before  the  faint  glimmer  through  the  cuddy-door, 
the  light  of  the  lamp  in  her  hand  shining  bright  over  her  hair 
and  her  shoulders;  while  the  gloomy  stillness  of  the  whole 
ship,  below,  made  me  think  of  the  voice  that  had  hailed  us 
through  the  lagoon,  and  the  same  man's  face — as  I  had  no 
doubt  now  it  was — when  I  saw  it  aboard  the  brig  at  sea, 
before  the  thunder-squall  came  on.  I  almost  fancied  I  saw 
Finch  and  him  meeting  at  the  present  moment,  with  the 
mate's  awkward  look  as  the  Frenchman's  sword  flashed 
across  him — my  fingers  gripped  together  for  the  handle  of  a 
cutlass,  to  go  tumbling  up  amongst  the  men  over  the 
schooner's  bulwarks  in  the  creek — when  all  at  once  another 
notion  darted  into  my  head,  to  remind  me  where  we  were  in 
the  meantime;  I  ran  to  the  companion  and  sprang  up  the 
stair  on  to  the  quarter-deck. 

"It  was  a  hot,  still  night;  but  the  change  from  the  close- 
ness below  to  the  deck  seemed  to  make  quite  a  new  man 
of  one  in  an  instant.  I  jumped  on  the  nearest  carronade- 
slide,  and  looked  round  to  see  how  the  land  lay,  which  at 
first  was  difficult  enough  to  do.  They  had  got  the  Indiaman 
fair  afloat  again,  I  found,  a  little  more  off  the  shore,  and 
farther  down — the  starboard  gun  1  stood  upon  being,  as  1 
guessed  by  the  shape  of  the  trees,  about  opposite  the  mud 
fort,  which  Finch  had  probably  been  peppering  at  as  he 
threatened,  since  the  port  was  open,  and  two  or  three  shot 


A  SEA  STORY  225 

lying  in  the  scuppers  beside  it.  'T  was  somewhere  nigh- 
hand  eight  o'clock  of  the  evening,  1  think,  and  quite  black 
011  the  nearest  bank — you  could  n;t  even  make  out  the  top  of 
the  woods  against  the  sky;  but  another  cable-length  would 
have  served  to  open  the  lower  reach  of  the  river,  where  it 
came  brimming  up  full  round  the  point  with  the  night 
flow,  sending  a  floating  sort  of  a  glimmer  along  in  the  dusk 
over  against  us.  One  could  even  pitch  upon  a  line  where 
it  ran  side  by  side  with  the  heavy  shadow  that  took  in  the 
ship,  going  across  to  the  swampy-looking  shore  off  our  lar- 
board side,  and  blackening  away  up-stream,  while  the  dim 
bubbles  and  eddies  swept  out  of  the  one  into  the  other.  1 
could  just  catch  the  low,  deep  roar  of  the  sea  more  than  a 
mile  off,  muffled  by  the  trees  and  mangroves  on  both  sides 
between  it  and  us;  and,  the  tide  having  come  almost  to  a 
standstill,  you  heard  the  ripple  against  her  bows  get  gentler 
and  gentler,  with  a  weak  plash  here  and  there  in  the  dark 
among  the  grass  and  sedge  alongshore,  which  seemed  to 
wake  up  a  chirping  mutter  in  the  bushes — and  at  times 
you  'd  have  thought  something  came  wading  out  from  the 
edge;  till  in  a  few  minutes  both  river  and  forest  had 
sunk,  as  it  were,  into  a  sleep.  The  quieter  they  got,  how- 
ever, the  more  uneasy  I  began  to  feel  at  the  state  1  saw 
things  in  upon  deck;  absolutely  not  a  soul  to  be  seen 
from  wheel  to  bowsprit,  except  one  man  walking  back  and 
forward  by  himself  on  the  forecastle,  and  giving  a  look  now 
and  then  carefully  enough  over  at  the  cable;  Mr.  Brown 
being  on  the  poop  with  his  family  and  the  knot  of  ladies,  talk- 
ing under  their  breath;  while  the  old  Scotch  mate  could  be 
seen  through  the  cabin  skylight,  leaning  his  bald  crown 
over  Ms  two  hands,  under  the  lamp  near  the  captain's  cot, 
to  listen  to  the  missionary,  as  he  sat  gravely  whispering 
and  looking  at  him  through  his  spectacles. 

"For  my  part,  I  had  n't  a  doubt  but  the  ship  had  been 
watched  from  shore  all  along;  and  there  was  no  saying  at 
present  who  might  be  keeping  an  eye  upon  her,  even  if  this 
affair  of  the  French  brig  were  n't  to  catch  us  in  some 
deep  trick  or  other.  If  it  were  really  she,  and  lying  where 
we  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  the  day  before,  't  would  take 
three  or  four  hours,  at  night,  even  to  pull  there  and  back 
again;  but  as  for  her  being  an  ordinary  pirate,  I  had  a 
strong  notion  she  was  no  such  thing,  and  the  stranger  1 
thought  the  whole  matter  throughout. 

"As  I  peered  over  the  bulwarks  into  the  thick  of  the  tall 
jungle,  the  showers  of  fireflies  came  here  and  there  flicker- 


226  THE  GREEN  HAND 

ing  out  from  under  the  big  leaves,  lighting  up  the  green 
of  them  for  a  moment,  and  dancing  across  a  black  mouth 
in  the  bank  nearest  us,  like  emerald  sparks.  By  this  time, 
too,  the  starlight  was  growing  large  out  over  the  dusk,  till 
the  whole  height  of  the  sky  had  heaved  itself  above  our  upper 
spars,  clear  as  crystal,  and  sprinkled  full  of  soft  silver  points, 
that  gathered  and  got  brighter  as  you  looked.  One  could 
see  the  whole  breadth  of  the  river  floating  slowly  between, 
with  lazy  brown  swirls  of  current  twisting  and  curling  round 
the  point,  and  the  eddies  rising  in  the  middle,  to  where  the 
water  glistened  among  the  dark  wet  mangrove  stems,  or 
some  oily  swell  near  the  edge  went  lipping  in  with  the  gleam 
of  a  star  lengthened  upon  it.  Hot  and  close  though  the 
night  still  was,  while  the  rank  smell  of  the  mud  came  at  times 
into  our  nostrils  from  one  side,  and  of  growing  leaves 
from  the  other,  yet  it  was  pleasant  enough  after  being  shut 
up  for  ever  so  many  hours  in  a  dark  hole  below. 

"Neither  did  I  think  there  was  any  fear  of  trouble  from 
the  natives  while  this  lasted;  but  the  haze  that  seemed  to 
be  oozing  out  over  the  mass  of  woods,  with  now  and  then 
a  cool  breath  of  air  from  up-river,  showed  what  a  fog  we 
might  expect  as  soon  as  the  land-wind  began  to  blow  strong 
from  inland.  Sometimes  I  fancied  I  heard  cries  in  the 
distance  among  the  woods,  over  the  croaking  of  the  frogs 
which  seemed  to  get  up  as  one  listened;  then  again  I  could 
make  out  the  hollow  booming  of  the  African  tree-drum, 
with  a  chorus  of  horns  and  savage-like  shouts,  apparently 
filling  up  every  break  in  the  hum  that  rose  off  the  ground 
— far  enough  away,  however,  to  satisfy  me  the  blacks  were 
only  making  merry  before  turning  in. 

"As  for  Tom  Westwood,  he  had  plainly  gone  with  the 
boats,  clerical  though  he  was,  which  did  n't  go  to  set  my 
mind  greatly  at  rest,  knowing  him  to  be  one  of  your  slap- 
dash fellows  when  roused ;  and,  either  way,  it  could  n't  do 
much  good  to  a  man  hailing  for  a  parson  to  be  particularly 
active  on  boat-service.  But  you  may  easily  conceive  what 
a  pitch  one's  anxiety  for  the  upshot  rose  to,  at  every  whis- 
per and  hush  of  the  woods,  and  every  glimmer  of  the  water 
far  astern,  where  the  upper  reach  could  just  be  seen  brim- 
ming pale  out  of  the  shadow,  against  a  thick  fringe  of  misty 
cane-clumps,  topped  with  tall  palms  and  cocoas — their  stems 
wavering  in  the  thin  haze,  and  their  dark  crowns  seem- 
ingly floating  off  above  it  like  heads  coming  away  from 
the  bodies,  as  the  heavy  blue  land-fog  began  to  gather  like 
smoke  away  behind. 


A  SEA  STORY  227 

"The  flow  of  tide  having  of  course  set  the  Indiaman's 
stem  up-stream,  the  ladies  011  the  poop  could  be  seen  clus- 
tered across  the  taffrail,  with  the  careful  married  gentleman 
in  the  middle  of  them,  more  dignified  than  ordinary,  as  they 
one  and  all  strained  their  eyes  into  the  dusk  before  them; 
when  cne  of  the  men  came  down  the  poop-stairs  behind  me, 
and,  on  turning,  I  saw  to  my  surprise  that  it  was  Jacobs, 
he  being  still  more  astonished  to  see  me  on  deck.  I  soon 
found,  to  my  great  relief,  too,  that,  what  with  the  anchor- 
watch  and  some  lads,  there  were  still  seven  or  eight  of  the 
crew  aboard,  whom  I  advised  him  to  get  on  deck  and  make 
them  keep  a  bright  lookout — more  especially  as  he  was  one 
of  the  boatswain's  mates,  and  had  charge  of  the  watch  at 
the  moment;  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  seriously  speaking,  I 
had  more  real  fear,  all  along,  of  some  attack  from  the 
negroes  and  Don  Jose,  than  of  the  French  craft  they  would 
fancy  a  pirate,  whatever  might  be  her  reason  for  stowing 
away  Eollock  and  his  companions — although  I  told  Jacobs 
I  had  no  doubt  now  but  it  was  actually  she.  'Ay,  ay,  sir/  said 
Jacobs  in  a  low  voice,  giving  his  trousers  an  uneasy  hitch  up, 
'not  a  doubt  on  it,  Mr.  Collins.  Black  Harry  and  his  mates 
clapped  eyes  on  her  this  forenoon,  when  they  went  up  for 
water — so  they  said,  anyway!'  'What,  Bob?'  said  I,  start- 
ing— 'was  it  that  scoundrel?  Did  they  not  see  her,  then?' 
'Well,  sir,'  replied  Jacobs,  'as  I  gather,  't  was  rather  one 
of  her  boats  they  fell  ath'art  of.  You'll  mind  Harry  was 
in  the  cutter  that  time  you  boarded  the  brig  at  sea,  Mr. 
Collins,  a  week  or  two  'gone — so,  you  see,  he  knowed  one 
or  two  o'  the  crew  at  once;  and  in  course,  sir,  comin'  across 
one  another  hereaway,  they  'd  make  shift  to  have  a  talk,  but 
none  on  'em  ever  guessed  about  our  passengers  bein' 
aboard  of  her,  till —  'Did  the  fellow  himself  think  they 
were  pirates,  then?'  asked  I,  more  anxiously  than  before — 
a  shivering  dread  of  I  did  n't  know  what  beginning  to  creep 
on  me,  as  I  turned  suddenly  round,  to  eye  the  river  gloom- 
ing away  up  from  the  starlight,  through  into  the  blue  heaps 
of  hazy  forest. 

"  'Why,  sir,'  answered  Jacobs,  hastily,  'he 's  a  desperate 
sort,  is  that  'ere  Foster,  if  it  was  only  what  I've  heard 
him  say,  swinging  sound  asleep  in  's  hammock.  I  would  n't 
tell  as  much  otherways;  but  I  tell  ye  what  it  is,  sir,  my 
mind  misgived  me  o'  this  here  overnight  boat-business !  It'  s 
my  sober  notion,  Leftenant  Collins,'  gravely  added  he,  seeing 
I  still  looked  anxiously  to  him — 'it's  my  notion,  if  that 
craft 's  aught  of  a  pirate,  Harry  Foster  and  more  nor  half 


228  THE  GREEN  HAND 

of  his  watch  'ud  think  no  more  o'  joining  her,  on  a  chance, 
than  one  on  'em  did  o'  taking  you  that  clip  with  a  hand- 
spike this  morning,  sir!  As  for  this  here  brig,  Master  Ned, 
your  honor,'  continued  he,  'what  did  she  do,  but,  to  my 
fancy,  she's  keeped  a  eye  on  us  ever  since  we  first  fell 
foul  of  her  ?' 

"  'Jacobs !  Jacobs !'  I  broke  out  directly,  'get  every  hand 
up  on  the  fo'ksle  at  once,  with  everything  like  arms  you 
can  find — for  God's  sake  look  sharp,  and  then  bear  a  hand 
here  to  have  the  carronades  fore  and  aft  run  in,  and  stuffed 
full  of  some  old  iron  or  other,  as  we  can't  have  grape!' 
Hurried  as  it  was,  I  saw  the  whole  thing — a  regular  deep- 
laid  plot  it  seemed,  too — and  the  first  time  I  had  seen  light 
as  to  what  the  strange  brig  could  be  after.  Here  had  she 
dodged  us,  no  doubt,  for  weeks;  got  hold  of  our  friends  by 
accident,  which  would  give  her  a  clue  how  to  find  us  any- 
where during  the  rest  of  our  voyage,  as  we  were  too  strong- 
handed  for  her  then.  'T  was  very  likely  they  thought  we 
should  suspect  something,  and  follow  wherever  they  could 
manage  to  lure  the  Indiaman — or  else  possibly  they  had 
run  into  the  river  the  very  same  day  we  did,  and  perhaps 
seen  us  out  of  the  haze  which  hid  the  land  from  us  that 
morning;  and  now,  if  they  had  studied  it  for  years,  they 
could  ri't  have  contrived  a  cleverer  trap  than  this  that  Finch 
and  the  passengers  had  run  their  heads  into,  with  more 
than  a  dozen  mutinous  dogs,  at  least,  in  their  company.  A 
prize  like  an  East-Indiaman  was  worth  taking  some  trouble 
about,  of  course;  while  such  villains  as  Foster  and  his  mess- 
mates, I  knew,  would  fancy  a  Bengal  nabob  carried  untold 
treasures  with  him,  and  it  was  plain  to  me  they  had  some- 
thing like  an  understanding  with  the  stranger's  crew.  'Ay, 
ay,  sir,'  said  Jacobs,  in  answer  to  me;  'hows-'ever,  the  first 
mate  left  word  with  Mr.  Macleod  he  'd  send  up  a  rocket  and 
a  blue  light  in  case  o'  a  good  success,  or  else  come  back  with 
the  boats.'  'Heaven  help  them,  Jacobs!'  said  I,  taking  a 
hasty  turn  or  two,  'for  we  can't.  But  there  is  something 
more  horrid  in  the  matter  than  I  fancied — only  all  we  can 
do  is  to  look  to  ourselves  and  the  ship  I  Hark  ye,  though, 
Bob,'  added  I,  following  him ;  'bring  up  the  beef -kid,  will  ye '( 
I  feel  terribly  sharp-set,  notwithstanding.' 

"I  came  back  and  looked  from  the  quarter-deck  down  the 
skylight,  where  the  second  mate  still  sat  with  his  elbows 
on  the  table,  apparently  listening  to  the  missionary;  when 
the  good  man  suddenly  took  off  his  spectacles  and  peered 
under  Macleod's  broad  fists,  as  an  undeniable  snore  broke 


A  SEA  STORY  229 

out  between  them;  then  he  glanced  toward  the  captain, 
who  seemed  dozing  in  his  cot,  raised  his  mild  eyes  for  a 
moment  though  the  opening  up  to  the  blue  starry  sky  swim- 
ming out  abcve,  put  on  his  spectacles  again,  and  taking  up 
the  Bible,  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair  to  read,  as  if  there 
were  neither  pirates,  savages,  nor  aught  a  man  need  dread,  in 
the  world. 

"'Strange!'  I  thought.  'Yet,  after  all,  isn't  there  a  soul 
below  there,  ere  a  few  hours,  will  go  higher  aloft  than  the 
smallest  star  that  twinkles  over  the  maintruck  yonder '{  And 
who  knows  how  many  of  us  may— - — '  However,  I  saw 
Jacobs  hurrying  aft  again,  and  the  rest  coming  up  out  of  the 
forepeak;  so  hard  to  work  we  set  for  the  best  part  of  an 
hour,  which  it  took  us  to  get  the  guns  on  deck  made 
serviceable,  and  to  find  powder  enough.  Not  a  cutlass  or 
pistol  was  left  on  board,  so  we  had  only  two  or  three  axes 
and  pikes,  with  a  rusty  musket  or  two,  and  handspikes, 
certainly,  to  spare. 

"As  soon  as  we  had  taken  breath,  'Now,  oacobs,  my  man/ 
said  I,  'send  out  the  boys  to  loose  the  jibs  and  fore-topsail — • 
let 's  hoist  the  yard,  too,  with  the  sail  clewed  up — all  ready 
for  slipping  her  cable  at  five  minutes'  warning!  It  can't 
do  any  harm — and  I  've  no  more  doubt,'  said  I,  'than  if  I  saw 
it,  we  shall  have  that  schooner  coming  down  with  the  ebb  upon 
us !'  'Tide  '11  turn  in  little  better  nor  an  hour,  sir,'  said 
Jacobs,  when  we  had  got  this  quietly  done.  'And  by  that 
time  the  breeze  will  be  blowing  with  it,'  said  I,  'bringing 
down  the  fog,  too,  however — but  keep  a  bright  lookout  aloft 
for  the  signal,  Jacobs!  If  you  see  it,  or  the  boats,  good  and 
well.  But  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Jacobs,'  added  1,  firmly — • 
'should  it  be  the  schooner  instead,  that  instant  we  must  cut 
and  run  for  it!  I  shall  carry  the  ship  out  to  sea,  if  1  can, 
as  I  brought  her  in — where  we  may  have  a  better  chance 
with  her  in  the  morning,  or  get  clear  off,  perhaps !' 

"There  being  no  more  we  could  do,  and  having  instructed 
Jacobs  to  go  down  and  rouse  Mr.  Macleod  himself  if  he 
saw  the  signal,  I  kept  stealing  back  and  forward  on  one  side 
of  the  quarter-deck  alone.  The  river  was  still  as  a  mill- 
pond,  except  where  it  trembled  in  long  streaky  gleamr- 
from  the  sky,  else  I  should  at  once  have  slipped  cable 
and  begun  to  go  down,  leaving  the  boats  to  come  after  us, 
if  they  did  come,  as  best  they  could.  There  was  n't  a  breath 
of  air  yet,  either,  save  what  seemed  now  and  then  to  waft 
out  of  the  thick  woods,  and  to  bring  the  whole  whispering 
buzz  of  them  stifled  together  along  the  face  of  the  water, 


230  THE  GREEN  HAND 

with  the  heavy  scent  of  the  aloes  and  trailers  on  the  bank, 
meeting  the  warm  steam  that  crept  across  from  the  man- 
groves on  the  opposite  shore.  A  hundred  notions  ran  througli 
my  head,  as  I  walked,  of  what  might  happen:  whether  the 
boats  would  miss  the  schooner  altogether,  and  she  drop  down 
upon  us  in  the  meantime,  either  by  the  creek  or  the  river — 
or  whether  Foster  and  his  crew  of  Wapping  blackguards 
would  carry  out  what  I  'd  no  doubt  they  had  at  heart. 

"But  at  any  rate,  as  for  a  set  of  passengers  and  mer- 
chant sailors  catching  an  armed  schooner  asleep,  with  one 
like  that  Frenchman  in  her,  I  had  his  fierce  dark  face  too 
much  before  me  whenever  I  thought  of  him  to  fancy  the 
thing  for  a  moment.  That  that  man  was  in  command  of 
the  stranger  craft,  and  had  some  scheme  in  hand  he  would 
stir  heaven  and  earth  to  carry  out,  unless  you  ground  his 
head  to  powder,  was  an  idea  that  came  shivering  sharp  into 
me  as  I  kept  watching  the  dark  mouth  of  the  creek  astern, 
and  the  glimmering  reach  beyond — looking  almost  to  see  the 
schooner's  bowsprit  shoot  out  of  one  of  them,  tide  or  wind 
though  there  was  none.  Frigate  to  frigate  in  a  breeze,  in 
fact,  I  should  have  minded  my  weather-gage  pretty  cau- 
tiously with  him,  if  a  seaman  he  was ;  but  if  he  were  bent  011 
having  the  old  'Seringapatam'  at  present,  by  heaven !  what 
I  feared  was  worse  than  either  plunder  or  walking  the  plank — 
seeing1  there  was  a  prize  the  Judge  had  left  on  board,  for 
which  I  felt  a  free-cruising  captain  would  give  all  the  treas- 
ures that  fellows  like  Foster  might  think  an  Indian  nabob 
had  in  his  portmanteau. 

"In  fact,  I  saw  Violet  Hyde  moving  restlessly,  two  or 
three  times,  near  the  break  of  the  poop,  as  she  watched 
the  dim  opening  astern,  while  her  lady's-maid  kept  close 
behind  her,  afraid  to  stay  below;  and  waiting,  idle  as  1  was, 
I  almost  began  for  the  time  to  forget  everything  else 
that  might  be  going  on,  at  thought  of  her  being  only  a 
few  feet  off,  with  no  one  by  but  the  servant-maid.  The  touch 
of  her  soft  hand  about  my  head  an  hour  ago  came  back 
on  me,  and  the  drowsy,  creeping  kind  of  hush  of  the  tropical 
night  seemed  to  bewilder  my  senses  at  every  rustle  of  her  dress 
— I  shan't  even  deny  that  the  notion  seized  me  for  half  a 
minute,  were  the  schooner  to  make  prisoners  of  the  boats7 
crews,  how  I  might  carry  the  Indiaman  out  to  sea,  and  go 
Lord  knows  where  with  her.  Then  the  idea  of  defending  her, 
and  saving  her,  made  one  wild  with  excitement — I  felt  as  if  I 
had  the  strength  of  twenty  in  me,  almost  longing  to  see  the 
pirates'  faces,  especially  the  dark  Frenchman's,  and  to  wait 


A  SEA  STORY  231 

till  they  came  close  on,  when  we  could  let  drive  into  them,  ex- 
pecting to  find  us  helpless.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  Mr. 
Brown  there,  and  the  missionary  too,  should  work  at  a  gun  as 
soon  as  they  were  wanted — when,  trip,  trip,  I  heard  her  foot- 
step coming  down  the  poop-stair  behind  me,  and  stood  trem- 
bling and  tingling  to  my  very  finger-ends. 

"  'Mr.  Westwood,'  said  her  low,  sweet  voice,  and  1  turned 
round.  'Yes,  madam,'  I  answered,  gulping  down  my  breath. 
'Have  you  heard — do  you  see  anything?'  'They've  scarce 
had  time  yet/  said  I;  'of  course  the  more  cautious  they 
are  the  better !'  'Oh !'  continued  she,  her  hands  clasp- 
ing together,  and  the  shawl  falling  half  off  her  head  to 
one  shoulder — 'oh,  if  there  should  really  be  bloodshed  at 
this  moment — the  river  looks  so  fearfully  gloomy  and  silent! 
How  is  it  possible  to  bear  this  suspense  any  longer,  sir? 
If  we  could  only  think  they  were  not  pirates,  after  all!' 
'Miss  Hyde,'  replied  I  seriously,  as  she  seemed  to  wish  me 
to  speak,  'I  can't  have  any  doubt  in  my  own  mind  what  they 
are!'  'How!  what?  for  mercy's  sake!'  exclaimed  she,  gazing 
earnestly  at  inc.  'You  must  n't  suppose  all  pirates  to  be 
bloody  murdering  ruffians,  Miss  Hyde,'  said  I,  hastily. 
'There  's  one  man  belonging  to  that  craft  yonder,  I  'm  sure, 
if  he  saw — if  he  stood  where  I  stand  just  now,  so  near  an 
angel —  The  young  lady  shrank  back  with  a  startled 
look ;  but  I  was  n't  master  of  myself  longer,  and  out  I  broke : 
'For  God's  sake,  forgive  me,  but  I — I  'd  serve  you  like  a 
slave — dearest  Miss  Hyde.  I  '11  stand  up  to  the  last  drop 
of  my  blood  before —  '  'Mr.  West — wood!'  was  the  answer, 
hanging  betwixt  surprise  and  terror.  But  I  burst  out  with, 
'Confound  that  name ! — my  name  is  not  Westwood,  madam, 
and  I  'm  no  relation  at  all  to  the  gentleman  in  India.  I 
never  said  so,  but  your  father  mistook —  'Who,  then — 
what  are  you — what  design  have  you?'  was  her  broken  ques- 
tion; and  she  put  one  hand  on  the  bulwarks  as  if  for  sup- 
port, looking  round  from  me  to  the  woods,  the  river,  and  back 
to  the  ship  and  me  again,  so  pale  and  terrified-like,  that  I 
could  have  cursed  myself  for  my  stupidity. 

"  'Good  heaven,  Miss  Hyde !'  said  I,  lowering  my  voice, 
I  do  believe  you  take  me  for  one  of  the  stranger's  crew?7 
'No — no !'  faltered  Violet ;  'I — I — but  the  suspicions  I  heard 
to-day — you — you  frightened  me,  sir !'  'Surely,'  said  I,  ready 
to  kneel  at  her  feet,  'you  must  have  known  the  truth  of 
the  matter,  Miss  Hyde.  Why,  here  have  I  come  afloat  at  a 
day's  warning,  bound  for  the  East  Indies — and  all  because  I 
saw  you  that  evening  at  the  garden  door !  Oh,  for  kindness7 


232  THE  GREEN  HAND 

sake,  Miss  Hyde,  pardon  my  boldness — but  I  couldn't  let 
slip  the  only  chance  of  telling  you — it  took  me  unawares,  in 
fact!  I'm  not  such  a  fool  as  to  fancy  that  such  a  fellow 
as  I  can  have  the  least  hope  in  the  world;  but — but — 
She  stood  quite  still,  not  uttering  a  word,  with  her  face 
turned  from  me;  but  I  could  notice  the  color  was  all  come 
back  to  her  cheek,  and  more — and  saw  the  shining  falls  of 
her  loose  hair  heaving  on  the  bosom  of  her  white  muslin 
dress,  as  it  rose  and  fell  gently.  I  leaned  over  the  bul- 
warks and  ventured  to  look  half-round;  when,  oh  heavens! 
how  did  my  heart  quicken  in  me  to  see  'the  least  bit  of  a 
smile  come  over  her  lips,  though  her  eyes  were  dropped  toward 
the  gun  close  by.  I  can't  say  what  I  might  have  been  bold 
enough  to  do,  in  the  whirl  of  the  moment — when  suddenly 
she  started,  drew  the  shawl  up  from  her  shoulders  again,  and 
seemed  to  recollect  the  whole  case  of  the  boats  with  a  shud- 
der, as  she  glanced  wildly  again  up  the  reach  astern  of  us, 
bringing  me  to  myself,  too,  at  the  same  time;  and  I  stood 
looking  with  her,  intent  to  mark  the  first  turn  of  the  tide. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

"THE  night  was  warm  enough,  however,  in  all  conscience; 
and,  if  one  had  been  fit  to  eye  it  calmly,  a  glorious  scene  to 
see  was  the  sky  that  rose  above  our  heads,  glowing  dark 
as  indigo-blue  through  the  rigging  aloft,  as  the  ship's  tall 
spars  stood  up  into  it,  from  one  rope  ladder  to  another;  her 
maintruck  like  a  white  button  against  the  midmost  depth, 
with  every  line  running  distinct  to  its  place  across  knots 
of  stars,  and  single  bright  ones  piercing  sharp  through  the 
black  squares  of  the  shrouds;  while  all  round  from  her  it 
widened  away,  glittering  and  seething  with  lights,  that 
brought  the  woods  looming  out  bigger  and  blacker  along  the 
nearest  shore,  making  the  dirty  brown  river  look  dirtier  and 
drearier  than  before,  as  the  steam  spread  over  the  close 
mangrove  bank  on  the  other  side,  and  began  to  creep  low 
out  upon  the  water  like  fleeces  of  wool,  with  the  stars  here 
and  there  sparkling  from  the  far  horizon  through  the  strag- 
gling fringe  of  cocoas  beyond,  and  the  huge  bloated  baobabs 
that  twisted  up  out  of  the  tall  guinea-grass,  as  if  their 
roots  were  in  the  air.  The  next  glance  I  caught  from  Violet 
Hyde  showed  nothing  but  the  distress  she  was  in;  and  I 


A  SEA  STORY  233 

walked  forward  to  hail  Jacobs  on  the  fore-to'gallant-yard, 
asking  if  he  saw  the  signal  yet.  'No,  no,  sir,'  answered  he, 
'not  a  sign  on  it  up  to  this  time.' 

"So  back  again  I  went,  gloomy  enough  myself,  but  trying 
to  keep  up  my  countenance,  and  saying  I  was  sure  we  should 
see  the  boats  come  down  with  the  tide  when  it  turned. 

"  'Have  you  noticed  the  stars  aloft,  Miss  Hyde  V  said  I, 
in  a  cheerful  way,  to  take  off  her  thoughts  till  the  upshot  came; 
'they  never  saw  these  in  Europe,  nor  a  night  like  this!' 
She  locked  up,  and  for  a  moment  or  two  the  soft  blue  dark 
of  the  hollow  seemed  to  sweep  round  both  of  us,  catching  you 
up  into  it;  the  Milky  Way  falling  over  to  westward,  like  a 
track  astern  of  the  great  star-ship  down  in  the  south;  and 
Orion's  figure  to  be  made  out  overhead,  with  the  belt  about 
him,  stretching  off  west  out  of  the  Milky  Way — the  Ser- 
pent streaming  far  up  to  his  foot;  then  Magellan's  two 
shining  bits  of  cloud,  and  the  dim  one,  seaward.  There 
were  patches  to  be  seen  blacker  than  ink,  too,  where  you 
seemed  to  look  through  the  sky,  while  every  now  and  then 
a  meteor  shot  far  across  it  and  fell,  leaving  a  trail  like 
a  silver  thread.  'T  was  terrible,  though,  to  see  up  into 
it,  far  away  as  they  stood,  and  as  steady  as  if  we  weren't 
there,  when  heaven  only  knew  what  might  come  down  river 
next  half-hour.  I  felt  her  shoulder  touch  me  as  she  leaned 
back — the  starlight  glistening  in  her  blue  eyes,  and  nothing 
but  it  between  her  lovely  young  face  and  the  stars;  and 
I  don't  know  how,  but  it  appears  to  me  I  thought  during 
that  half-minute  as  I  never  thought  before,  and  as  if  1 
looked  off  the  other  side  of  the  world  for  the  first  time 
— yet  you  could  n't  expect  a  fellow's  brain  to  breed  such 
notions  in  a  merchantman's  forecastle,  or  a  frigate's  steer- 
age or  gunroom,  as  it  did  beside  an  Indiaman's  bulwarks, 
entering  for  a  moment  or  two  into  the  very  feelings  of  a 
creature  like  the  Judge's  daughter,  when  her  warm  breath 
almost  lighted  on  his  cheek ! 

"Next  minute  I  noticed  over  my  shoulder,  low  down  in  the 
deep  blue  swell  of  the  south,  where  the  five  bright  stars 
of  the  Southern  Cross  were  gleaming  nearly  upright  over 
the  top  of  a  cocoa-clump  on  the  opposite  bank,  for  all  the 
world  like  some  diamond  ornament;  and  I  pointed  it  out 
to  her,  though  I  knew  by  the  bearings  of  it  how  far  the 
night  was  gone  toward  the  middle.  Its  top  and  bottom 
stars  flashed  out  of  the  pure  face  of  heaven  like  jewels, 
each  fit  to  buy  the  Great  Mogul  ten  times  over.  The  dark 
fringes  of  her  two  eyes  showed  brown  over  the  light  in 


234  THE  GREEN  HAND 

them,  while  it  looked  like  the  hearts  in  violet  flowers,  as  she 
turned.  'At  sea,'  said  I,  'we  mids  used  to  know  by  it 
when  eight-bells  would  come,  to  let  us  go  below  and  turn 
in.  Soon  after  you  lose  sight  of  the  Pole-star  you  rise  the 
Southern  Cross — and  the  men  had  a  notion  it  was  a  brooch 
the  Virgin  Mary  lost  from  her  breast,  in  the  daylight, 
when  she  went  up  to  heaven !  'T  was  her  Son  gave  it  her,  they 
fancied,  but  'twas  always  to  be  found  in  the  dark — though, 
meanwhile,  't  is  a  sign  to  the  Flying  Dutchman,  as  he  tries  to 
weather  the  Cape,  that  he  '11  be  forgiven  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment— so  that 's  the  reason  it  has  the  power  of  showing  what 's 
o'clock  until  then,  and  why  the  Cape  is  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope !'  'Yes,  yes !'  said  she ;  'in  Paul  and  Virginia,  I  remem- 
ber, when  they  were  so  unwilling  to  part,  it But  she 

stopped  with  a  blush,  as  her  eye  met  mine;  and  we  were  both 
so  confused  that,  before  I  knew,  I  found  myself  beginning  to 
stammer  out  all  manner  of  tender  words,  1  dare  say,  and 
to  whisper  her  first  name  near  her  ear,  she  scarce  seeming 
to  mark  the  difference — in  fact  one  bewildered  sort  of  look 
was  all  she  gave  me  at  the  moment,  as  if  she  were  listening 
more  to  the  hum  rising  out  of  the  woods  than  to  me. 

"Once  or  twice  the  still  shine  of  the  lamp  up  through 
the  open  skylight-frame  drew  my  eye  to  it  in  spite  of  me — 
it  was  the  only  light  burning  in  the  ship,  and  you  saw 
the  gleam  of  it  from  the  starboard  port-window  of  the 
cuddy,  drawn  in  as  it  was  for  air,  thrown  on  the  dusky  water, 
not  many  fathoms,  apparently,  off  the  jungly  bank  nearest  the 
ship.  I  can't  tell  you  how,  but  somehow  or  other  the  ap- 
pearance of  it  there,  like  a  yellow  break  in  the  misty  shadow, 
letting  one  see  the  very  froth  floating  over  it,  and  the  muddy 
tint  of  the  river  on  its  edges — with  the  hush  below  us  in 
the  cabin — awed  me  more  than  aught  besides;  and  whether 
it  was  from  mixing  the  thing  with  what  happened  afterwards,- 
or  how — perhaps  the  missionary  moved  inside — but  when  I 
noticed  the  gleam  on  the  water  quiver  and  darken  for  a 
moment,  then  shine  out  again,  I  felt  I  knew  it  was  then  the 
captain's  spirit  passed  away.  I  slipped  with  a  thrill  of  my 
blood  to  the  skylight,  and  saw  Macleod  still  asleep,  the  mis- 
sionary settling  his  spectacles  on  his  nose  to  read  again, 
as  if  he  had  looked  up,  too,  when  I  did;  while  the  cot 
and  bedclothes  were  hanging  white  in  the  shade  as  before, 
except  that  the  knees  were  drawn  up,  and  the  head  turned 
away.  He  might  be  dozing,  though  it  came  into  my  head 
I  had  heard  the  captain  say  he  should  last  till  the  turn 
of  the  tide;  and  in  fact  all  the  sick  men  I  ever  knew  die, 


A  SEA  STORY  235 

unless  there  was  something  uncommon,  died  as  the  ebb  came 
on.  As  I  stepped  back  to  the  young  lady's  side,  I  could 
mark  the  Southern  Cross  by  the  after-edge  of  the  main- 
mast, sparkling  fairly  upright  above  the  cocoanut  trees, 
and  Orion  high  up  nor'-westward  seemed  farther  away — it 
was  midnight.  The  thought  flashed  through  me  how  some- 
thing in  the  sky  could  draw  up  a  man's  soul,  as  the  shot 
at  his  hammock-foot  would  sink  his  body  down  deep  through 
blue  water  at  sea — but  the  first  light  plash  of  the  ebb  along- 
side brought  me  back  to  the  case  in  hand,  and  I  gave  Jacobs 
a  quiet  sign  to  look  out  sharp  aloft. 

"  'Hark !'  whispered  Violet  Hyde,  suddenly,  glancing  side- 
ways to  me  with  her  ear  eagerly  toward  the  shore,  ani  put- 
ting back  her  hair  with  one  hand  to  listen — 'what  is  that?' 
I  thought  at  first  I  could  see  a  stir  along  the  thick  aloe- 
bushes,  and  make  out  the  rustle  of  leaves;  but  the  land- 
breeze  was  sighing  in  puffs  through  them  already,  and  the 
fog  beginning  to  creep  out  from  over  the  bank,  as  if  to 
meet  the  muddy  stream  from  the  other  side;  till  next  minute 
I  heard  what  she  meant,  like  wild  cries  from  human  creatures 
half  choked,  or  out  of  breath,  sounding  along  deep  in  the 
woods;  then  free  out  it  rose  in  a  clear  chorus  of  savage 
screams  and  yells,  and  then  seemed  smothered  up  again. 
'T  was  only  a  pack  of  jackals  hunting  from  thick  bush  to 
opening,  but  Violet  pressed  closer  to  me  as  the  devilish  noise 
drew  nearer  the  river;  and  suddenly  my  hand  met  hers — 
to  say  what  I  felt,  passes  me — but  the  very  next  moment  I 
had  it  fast  clasped  in  my  own,  though  I  had  n't  time  enough  to 
say  what  the  thing  was  before  the  entire  pack  of  throats 
seemed  to  break  out  right  upon  the  bank  a  little  higher  up 
than  the  ship,  barking  and  yelping  like  the  very  hounds  of 
Satan.  l  'T  is  only  the  chase  has  taken  to  the  water !'  con- 
tinued I,  in  a  low  voice,  as  the.  infernal  uproar  stopped  at 
once. 

"However,  then,  the  sweet  girl  was  trembling  like  a  leaf; 
and,  by  Jove!  madam,  take  it  as  you  will,  the  man  who 
would  n't  have  had  one  arm  round  her  before  that,  could  have 
been  110  sailor — that 's  all.  Tor  God's  sake,  dear,  dear  Miss 
Hyde/  whispered  I — 'dearest  Violet,  let  me  take  you  under 
shelter — we  may  have  dangerous  work  before  long!' 

"I  started  up  from  the  bulwarks,  in  fact,  for  the  river  by 
this  time  was  all  aplash  alongshore  in  the  haze,  and  under 
the  ship's  bends,  beginning  to  run  past  her  side  seaward,  as 
the  branches  and  loose  stuff  came  floating  out  with  the  cur- 
rent off  a  point;  the  sedge  and  bulrushes  opposite  us  moan- 


236  THE  GREEN  HAND 

ing  and  clattering,  as  the  breeze  rushed  through  them,  bring- 
ing the  fog  rolling  down  stream.  The  mist  was  closing  over- 
head from  both  sides  already,  though  the  stars  sparkled 
through  the  middle  yet ;  and  I  knew  the  moon  must  be  rising, 
fit  to  show  us  anything  that  came  out  of  the  upper  reach. 
<N0 — no!'  faltered  out  Violet,  in  tears,  as  she  slid  herself 
quickly  out  of  my  hold,  drawing  the  shawl  over  her  with 
a  shudder;  'I  cannot  go  inside  till  we  see  them  come  back — 
my  dear,  dear  father,  I  must  see  that  he  is  safe!'  'By 
heaven!  though,'  exclaimed  I,  jumping  upon  the  carronade 
to  look  out,  'those  brutes  are  swimming  after  the  deer, 
and  the  stream  is  bringing  them  down  on  our  stern!'  The 
Indiaman  was  swinging  her  stern  down  to  the  ebb,  and 
through  the  dusk  I  fancied  I  just  saw  their  black  heads 
tipping  here  and  there  out  of  the  water,  amongst  the  drift- 
wood and  froth,  where  the  light  from  the  cabin  port  swung 
slowly  into  the  mist,  with  the  ship.  However,  they  went  past ; 
and  she  had  n't  got  her  bow  fair  to  the  current,  when  a  man 
from  the  bow  sung  out,  'Hurrah !  here  's  the  boats  now !' 

"'Where,  where?'  said  I,  springing  forward  to  the  fore- 
chains,  while  the  young  lady  stood  as  if  her  life  hung  en  the 
next  word.  'There,  sir,  right  ahead  almost  as  she  swings,' 
said  the  sailor;  and  thick  as  the  blue  fog  was  close  to  us, 
the  cream-colored  haze  filling  up  the  reach  of  the  river  be- 
yond was  lighting  up  like  white  gauze  with  the  moon,  in 
which  I  saw  two  or  three  black  objects  come  dropping  out 
as  if  from  the  creek,  their  oar-blades  flashing  in  it.  But  1 
thought  they  crowded  together  awkwardly,  like  maimed  craft, 
and  the  weight  seemed  to  keep  them  down,  unless,  as  I  hoped, 
they  were  waiting  for  the  others.  'No,  no,  Mr.  Collins!' 
whispered  Jacobs,  suddenly  sliding  down  a  topmast-back- 
stay to  my  side,  'they  're  canoes,  sir !'  'By  the  Lord !  so 
they  are/  said  I,  seeing  a  flourish  of  the  paddles  that  be- 
trayed them.  'They  're  hanging  on  yet,  though,  to  catch  us 
napping — keep  cool,  Bob,  my  man,'  continued  I,  for  my 
spirits  rose,  to  find  my  fears  mistaken  as  yet  about  our 
boats.  'But  the  cable — the  cable!'  added  I  hastily — 'by 
George,  they  '11  try  to  cut  it,  as  sure  as  fate  I  Ready  there — 
don't  fire  a  shot  till  they  're  close — nothing  but  stupid  nigger 
heathens  after  all,  my  lads !  Quick,  a  couple  of  you,'  said  1, 
'bowse  up  the  jib  at  once,  and  down  fore-topsail  sheets — 
brace  the  yard  sharp  up,  to  cast  her  head  down  if  they  do 
cut !  If  we  go  aground,  Jacobs,  we  're  gone !' 

'  'T  was  vain  to  think  of  hindering  them,  few  as  we  were, 
and  scarce  able  to  see  what  they  did,  for  the  fog;  but  the  land- 


A  SEA  STORY  237 

breeze  already  blew  pretty  fresh,  and  the  ebb  rushing  on  her 
bows  made  the  Indiaman  heave  to  it  as  her  jib  rose  from 
the  boom.  I  had  no  time  to  stand  upon  ceremony — to  think 
of  the  pilotage  again — with  the  savages,  the  narrow  channel 
in  the  dusk,  and  the  breakers  together,  was  quite  enough. 

"In  the  very  nick  of  such  a  breathless  moment,  L  had 
just  fancied  I  caught  the  stroke  of  their  paddles  coming 
on — when  all  at  once,  out  of  the  open  cabin-skylight  aft,  rose 
a  sound,  the  like  of  which  I  never  heard  in  my  life — 
between  a  yell  and  a  cry;  but  the  mouth  of  the  skylight 
seemed  to  send  it  up  higher  than  the  mastheads,  loud  and 
long,  into  the  slit  of  starlight  between  the  fog.  For  a  single 
second  the  marrow  curdled  in  my  bones,  and  I  lost  all  thought 
even  of  the  canoes  ahead,  't  was  so  unearthly ;  till,  catching 
a  glimpse  of  Violet's  white  figure  crouching  in  terror  to 
the  round-house  door,  I  rushed  aft,  and  looked  down  at  the 
cuddy.  It  was  all  black  as  midnight  below,  the  stink  of  the 
swinging  lamp  coming  out;  but  by  the  horrible  tumbling, 
staggering,  struggling  sound  inside,  you  'd  have  thought  it 
full  of  some  awful  thing,  doing  God  knows  what  in  the 
place — then  a  thump  and  a  groan.  I  scarce  believe  I  could 
have  mustered  heart  to  go  down  the  companion  and  see 
— till  next  moment  the  Scotch  mate's  bare  head  and  his 
shoulders  came  thrusting  up  out  of  the  stair,  wrestling 
wildly  with  three  or  four  pitch-black  naked  figures — the 
narrow  booby-hatch  hindering  them  from  sticking  together 
to  him,  except  one  that  leaped  out  almost  on  his  back,  aim- 
ing a  fierce  stroke  with  a  club  at  his  skull.  Quick  as 
thought,  however,  my  coolness  had  come  back  to  me,  and 
I  just  sent  the  bullet  from  the  ship's  musket  I  had  snatched 
up  fair  flash  through  his  lungs,  the  blood  spouting  out  of  his 
mouth  almost  over  us,  as  he  spun  round  with  his  club  in  the 
air,  and  fell  back — while  smash  after  smash  I  brought  the 
stock  of  my  piece  down  on  the  crowns  of  the  others,  trying 
to  get  on  deck  too  thick  together;  and  Macleod  was  doing 
the  same  like  a  man,  at  the  skylight,  where  they  were  catch- 
ing at  the  edge  of  the  frame.  The  shrieks  of  the  ladies 
came  off  the  poop  above;  and  as  for  the  men,  they  were 
dodging  under  the  forecastle  bulwarks  as  they  fired  at  the 
canoes  ahead,  from  the  spears  and  arrows  that  came  whistling 
over,  and  quivering  into  the  planks  near  me.  What  else  the 
fiendish  wretches  might  be  doing  I  did  n't  know,  but  I  had  no 
sooner  managed  to  shove  the  scuttle  over  the  booby-hatch, 
the  second  mate  loading  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  blazing  away 
down  into  the  skylight  like  a  perfect  devil,  lighting  up 


238  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  black  faces  and  sharp  teeth  of  the  savages  below  at 
every  shot,  rushing  back,  than  I  felt  the  Indiaman  was  broad- 
side on  to  the  tide  and  current,  sweeping  down  to  open  the 
next  reach  with  her  jib  and  topsail  full  to  the  land-breeze. 
1  sprang  back  to  seize  the  wheel,  near  which  Violet  Hyde 
stood  cowering  with  her  two  hands  over  her  eyes,  when, 
in  the  midst  of  it  all,  you  may  fancy  my  horror  to  cntch  a 
glimpse  of  one  hideous  black  stealing  round  towards  her  in 
the  shadow  of  the  round-house,  with  a  hatchet  gloaming 
in  one  hand,  and  the  other  stretched  out  to  clutch  her. 
'T  was  the  work  of  a  second.  I  made  one  leap,  and  barely 
caught  the  blow  on  my  gunstock,  as  he  took  hold  of  her 
dress;  then  over  he  and  I  rolled  on  the  deck,  first  one  up- 
permost, then  the  other,  till  I  found  his  strength  was  too 
much  for  me,  breathless  as  I  was. 

"The  fellow  had  his  huge  hand  round  my  throat,  choking 
me,  and  ready  to  spring  up  with  the  hatchet  in  his  other 
fist — 't  was  the  mulatto  that  had  been  with  the  Portuguese 
— when  I  saw  Violet  Hyde  cart  forward  between  me  and  the 
stars,  throwing  her  large  shawl  round  his  head  and  arm 
from  behind  him,  and  holding  it  tight,  her  face  turned 
away,  white  as  death.  The  mulatto  loosened  his  grasp  and 
jumped  up,  throwing  her  reeling  back  to  the  door;  but  I  was 
on  my  feet  as  soon  as  he,  twisting  his  hatchet  from  his 
grip,  and  sent  the  edge  of  it  with  all  my  force  clean  down 
into  his  brain,  through  cashmere  and  everything.  Kre  he 
had  time  to  pull  it  off,  he  was  stretched,  breast  and  knees 
up,  over  the  carronade-slide  at  my  feet. 

"The  dear  girl  had  fainted.  I  lifted  her,  and  hurried  with 
her  to  the  sofa  in  the  round-house,  my  heart  swelling  toward 
her  in  a  way  no  man  can  tell,  though  there  was  not  a  mo- 
ment to  stay,  for  when  I  reached  the  wheel  again,  a  sight 
broke  upon  me  that  showed  the  fearful  danger  we  were  in. 
The  savages  in  the  cuddy  could  be  heard  plunging  out  of 
the  port  to  swim  ashore;  and  though  the  ebb-tide  was  tak- 
ing the  ship  apparently  clear  round  the  woody  turn,  she 
had  no  sooner  opened  the  wide  reach,  where  the  fog  was 
scattering  before  the  breeze,  than  we  began  to  see  a  stretch 
of  the  nearest  bank,  off  our  starboard  bow,  glimmering  out 
to  a  huge  fire  on  the  edge,  that  lighted  up  the  thick  white 
haze  like  sulphur — throwing  a  bloody  red  glow  on  the  eddies 
in-shore,  with  two  or  three  black  canoes  dipping  up  and  down 
in  them;  a  crowd  of  dark,  naked  negroes  rushing  round 
the  fire,  bringing  logs  and  branches  to  throw  in,  till  up  it 
blazed  again;  the  sparks  flying  into  the  smoke,  the  feathery 


A  SEA  STORY  239 

black  jungle  sinking  back  behind,  and  the  banian  branches 
shooting  out  into  it,  as  if  they  were  alive,  licking  the  crim- 
son gleams  with  their  sharp  leaves;  while  a  horrible  noise 
of  tree-drums  beating,  and  buffalo-horns  blowing  floated  off 
to  us. 

"The  wretches  seemed  to  expect  we  were  coming  straight 
in  to  them,  and  they  waited  for  us.  And  no  wonder;  for  it 
was  n't  till  Jacobs  came  running  aft,  to  tell  the  mate  and 
me,  that,  to  our  horror,  we  found  the  canoes  had  got  the 
rest  of  the  cable  fastened  somehow  or  other  low  down  to  her 
cut-water,  and  were  coolly  towing  us  in  by  it.  We  could 
neither  cut  it  nor  dispose  of  them,  as  at  every  shot  there 
were  plenty  more  to  fill  places;  while  the  helm  was  only 
enough  to  steer  her,  had  she  been  free. 

" ' J  acobs,'  said  I,  'for  heaven's  sake  bear  a  hand  with  two 
or  three  of  these  heavy  shot  in  a  hammock — let 's  sling  it  out 
to  the  flying-jib  boom  end,  and  I  '11  stand  by  to  drop  it  fair 
over  them — quick!'  Three  of  us  ran  out  from  the  bowsprit, 
with  the  end  of  the  line,  swinging  out  the  weight  and  haul- 
ing it  up,  till  we  were  nearly  over  their  heads  in  the  foggy 
gleam  from  the  blaze  ashore.  The  cable  tautened  fair  under 
us  as  the  blacks  gave  a  stroke  ahead  together  with  their 
paddles,  and  'Watch!'  I  sung  out  above  them,  in  a  voice 
that  made  them  huddle  all  three  canoes  in  a  lump,  peering 
up  at  us.  'Let  go,  my  lads,'  whispered  I,  and  down  went 
the  weight  of  shot  full  slap  upon  them,  crash  through  their 
gunwales,  leaving  no  more  than  the  bits,  with  the  woolly 
heads  bobbing  about  in  the  stream.  The  second  mate  whirled 
round  the  spokes  of  the  wheel,  on  deck,  and  her  jib  and  top- 
sail drawing  the  breeze  right  again,  she  began  to  stand  out 
toward  the  middle  once  more.  I  watched  the  glare  of  the 
fire  sinking  back  into  the  blue  fog,  while  the  hubbub  of 
wild  cries  showed  that  they  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  were 
pushing  off  as  fast  as  possible  in  their  canoes  from  the  bank 
in  chase. 

"The  next  thing  I  saw,  two  or  three  minutes  after,  was 
the  flash  of  a  large  gun  away  on  our  starboard  quarter, 
flaring  out  in  the  mist  round  the  strange  schooner  herself,  as 
she  came  swiftly  down  astern  of  us,  under  her  two  boom- 
sails  and  flying-jib,  the  froth  whitening  up  from  her  fore- 
foot, and  she  crushing  through  amongst  the  canoes,  letting 
drive  at  them  right  and  left,  flash  after  flash,  and  roar 
after  roar — her  deck  crowded  with  men,  too,  amongst  whom 
I  thought  I  could  make  out  the  dark  Frenchman's  broad- 
leafed  Manilla  hat.  However,  the  wreaths  of  thick  smoke 


24o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

blew  curling  from  her  towards  us;  and  directly  after  noth- 
ing was  to  be  heard  but  the  ripple  under  our  bows,  as  we 
went  surging  toward  the  river's  mouth,  with  the  clear  plash 
upon  her  copper  coming  nearer. 

"Jacobs  and  I,  as  well  as  the  other  hand,  hung  over  the 
boom  together  for  a  little  to  loose  the  fly  ing- jib,  then  out 
of  pure  weariness,  till  I  sent  Jacobs  to  take  the  wheel  and 
steer  by  my  signals;  for  the  Indiaman  had  the  full  force 
of  current  and  breeze  astern  of  her,  carrying  her  fast 
toward  the  bar,  as  I  guessed;  while  the  second  mate  let  her 
yaw  dreadfully,  from  fear  of  going  wrong.  As  for  the 
schooner,  we  could  make  out  her  lights  through  the  fog, 
the  wind  bringing  us  the  sound  of  her  cut-water — though 
probably  they  could  n't  know  whereabouts  we  were ;  so  1 
hoped  she  might  perhaps  go  past  us  in  the  dark,  if  she  were 
actually  in  chase  of  the  Indiaman,  as  I  feared. 

"However,  the  moment  the  cheep  of  our  fly  ing- jib  hanks 
on  the  stay  was  heard,  as  the  sail  was  hoisted,  a  sharp  hail 
came  along  the  water.  'Hola!'  sung  out  the  creaking  voice 
of  the  little  French  skipper,  who  had  bamboozled  me  so  at 
sea.  None  of  us  answered,  and  I  ran  down  the  spar  to  be 
ready  for  what  might  happen,  when  'Hola!  ou  etes-vous?' 
shouted  he  again.  'Hullo!  the  "Seringapatam,"  ahoy!' 
roared  our  chief  officer  himself;  to  which  no  sooner  had 
Macleod  replied,  than  we  caught  three  hearty  English  cheers, 
and  next  minute  the  schooner's  canvas  was  looming  up  from 
the  yellow  glimmer  of  her  lanterns  a  few  fathoms  on  our 
starboard  quarter — the  foam  hissing  off  her  sharp  bright 
bows,  while  she  raced  up  with  us.  Every  one  of  us  started 
at  the  jovial  sound  of  the  voice  of  old  Rollock,  the  planter, 
shouting,  'All 's  right,  my  boys !'  as  if  he  had  risen  from 
the  dead  out  of  the  sea — the  schooner  slipping  easily  by, 
abreast  of  our  high  bulwarks;  and  the  crowd  of  heads  from 
stem  to  stern,  English,  French,  and  Kroomen,  gliding  past 
below,  for  all  the  world  like  a  dream  to  most  of  us,  with 
the  light  from  the  lanterns  flaring  up  red  under  hats,  caps. 
and  tarpaulins,  and  the  black  shadow  of  their  figures  and 
small-arms  thrown  high  in  two  clusters  on  the  broad  glare 
over  her  fore  and  main  boom-sails.  'Have  ye  actually  taken 
the  blackguards,  sir?'  hailed  the  Scotch  mate;  at  which  a 
shout  of  laughter  ran  from  one  end  of  her  to  the  other; 
while  one  of  the  cadets,  seemingly  half -drunk,  could  be  seen 
staggering  aft  to  the  stern,  as  she  forged  swiftly  ahead, 
just  in  order  to  call  out,  'Macleod,  my  old  cock,  comment 
vous  portez-vous?'  The  little  French  master  jumped  up  on 


A  SEA  STORY  241 

the  schooner's  taffrail,  waving  his  hand  politely :  'J'  aurai 
I'  honneur  pour  vous  conduire,  en  debouchant,  Messieurs!' 
shouted  he ;  'follow  de  light  een  my  starn !' 

"In  fact,  by  this  time  we  were  already  in  the  suck  of 
the  channel,  so  that  longer  speaking  was  out  of  the  question, 
as  the  boom  of  the  surf  could  be  heard  wide  ahead  of  the 
ship.  Suddenly  a  broad  gleam  of  light  off  the  sea  struck  over 
our  starboard  bow,  beyond  the  tumbling  water  upon  the  bar, 
and  to  starboard  the  rocky  headland  broke  through  the  fog 
rolling  out  with  the  breeze:  the  schooner's  stern  lifted  glim- 
mering before  our  figure-head,  and  we  lost  sight  of  her  again, 
till  we  had  swept  safe  round  the  point.  Five  minutes  more, 
and  both  Indiaman  and  schooner  were  heaving  on  the 
waves  from  the  shadow  of  the  high  land,  the  dark-blue  swells 
cresting  up  all  round  against  a  bank  of  cloud  on  the  horizon, 
and  the  long  send  of  the  sea  to  be  felt  once  more  under  you 
— the  moon  rising  out  of  the  river,  while  a  fresh  breeze  blew 
in  the  offing,  and  promised  to  get  a  good  deal  stronger. 

"The  schooner  soon  hove  to,  and  before  we  could  have 
beaten  up  to  her,  being  to  leeward,  we  saw  one  boat  after 
another  dropped  astern  or  off  the  side,  till  the  whole  five 
could  be  made  out  pulling  for  the  ship;  but  the  minute  after 
they  were  alongside,  she  filled  away  again,  standing  almost 
right  before  the  breeze  up  to  north-westward. 

"Well,  you  can  fancy  the  confusion  on  board  of  us  for  a 
short  time,  what  with  questions  and  explainings,  and  what 
with  seeing  worthy  old  Bollock  again,  Ford,  Winterton, 
the  Brigadier,  and  Mrs.  Brady,  after  being  parted  for  a 
number  of  days  in  such  a  way.  The  meeting  of  the  young 
lady,  Miss  Fortescue,  with  her  mother  was  touching  enough  to 
witness,  though  of  course  the  gentlemen  had  got  it  all  over 
before;  and  in  fact  they  seemed  to  have  made  pretty  merry 
aboard  the  French  craft,  while  we  were  fighting  for  fair  life 
with  those  infernal  Congo  savages.  The  dead  blacks  on  deck 
and  below  had  been  thrown  overboard  already,  and  the 
Indiaman  crowding  sail  on  her  course ;  but  I  saw  the  Judge 
for  a  minute  before  the  round-house  door  was  shut,  with  1m 
daughter  sobbing  on  his  neck;  and  as  soon  as  the  rest  met 
below  in  the  cuddy,  a  scene  was  to  be  found  there  which  one 
does  n't  easily  forget — the  steward  lying  in  one  doorway,  dead, 
with  his  head  smashed  by  a  club;  the  missionary  under  the 
table,  still  bleeding,  though  he  was  alive,  and  not  very  much 
hurt  after  all.  Neither  he  nor  Macleod  could  tell  very  well 
how  the  thing  happened,  plain  as  it  was  now  to  me;  but  the 
strangest  part  of  it  to  see,  horrid  as  it  seemed  at  first,  was  the 


242  THE  GREEN  HAND 

body  of  Captain  Williamson.  His  cot  had  been  knocked  to 
the  deck,  some  of  the  devilish  wretches  had  given  his  fore- 
head one  gash,  and  his  breast  another,  each  fit  to  kill  a  man. 
There  was  little  or  no  blood,  however ;  his  face  had  a  peaceful 
look  on  it,  almost  smiling,  you  'd  have  said,  by  comparison  ' 
with  the  poor  steward's ;  and  as  soon  as  his  eyelids  were  down, 
the  old  seaman  appeared  to  be  sleeping  yet.  For  my  part,  1 
felt  as  sure  as  if  I'd  seen  it,  that  when  the  savages  struck 
that  body,  they  might  as  well  have  struck  at  the  stars  we  had 
seen  over  the  deck. 

"Still,  when  all  was  cleared  away,  and  the  passengers  gone 
tired  out  to  their  berths,  I  could  n't  turn  in  without  a  walk  on 
the  poop  beside  the  planter,  to  hear  something  from  him — the 
ship  all  the  time  rising  on  the  brisk  seas,  every  stitch  of 
canvas  spread,  the  African  coast  beginning  to  drop  in  the 
moonshine,  and  the  schooner  a  dim  speck  to  north-west 
through  the  long  gleam  on  the  horizon.  I  found,  to  my  great 
surprise,  there  was  no  reason  he  could  think  of  for  the  French 
craft's  detaining  them,  except  that  the  Brigadier  had  sworn  at 
Bonaparte  in  the  brig's  cabin,  or  else  Mrs.  Brady's  having 
said  she  would  give  the  world  to  see  him  just  now  at 
St.  Helena ;  in  fact  she  would  go  through  fire  and  water  only 
to  kiss  the  hand  of  such  a  great  hero — such  an  enemy  to  all 
Saxons  and  tyrants,  she  vowed.  But  in  fact  they  had  been 
sitting  below  at  the  time  our  boat  came  aboard,  and  knew 
nothing  about  it ;  the  French  master  swore  to  Rolloek,  and  to 
the  chief  officer  afterwards,  he  had  mistaken  my  meaning — 
because  I  spoke  bad  French,  no  doubt;  after  which  the  gale 
came  on,  and  they  never  saw  the  Indiaman  again  till  to-night. 
As  for  their  going  into  the  river,  and  changing  her  rig,  the 
little  Frenchman  said  he  found  a  brig's  rig  did  n't  suit  a 
schooner's  hull.  For  my  part,  however,  I  did  n't  see  how 
their  course  for  the  Isle  of  France  could  be  north-west.  'By 
the  bye,  though,'  added  Rollock,  'Mrs.  Brady  made  some  mys- 
tery about  the  whole  affair.  She  seemed  to  have  a  few 
private  discourses  with  that  strange  dark-faced  passenger  of: 
theirs,  who,  I  suspect,  had  more  to  do  with  the  vessel  than 
he  pretended.  But  I  dare  say,  Collins,  my  boy/  said  he 
laughing,  'she  wanted  to  make  us  think  the  foreigner  had 
taken  a  fancy  to  her.' 

"As  we  were  both  going  below,  I  said,  'By  the  way,  where 
is  Mr.  Daniel  Snout? — I  haven't  seen  him  yet.'  'Ah,'  said 
the  planter,  turning  round,  'where  is  Daniel,  after  all  I  7 
have  n't  seen  him  either,  since  we  left  the  schooner's  deck — • 
no,  by  Jove !  sir,  he  really  has  n't  come  on  board,  now  I  think 


A  SEA  STORY  243 

of  it !  I  recollect  we  were  the  last  boat,  and  he  was  n't  in 
it,  although  he  was  behind  me  just  before  I  got  down.' 
'What  can  the  man  mean?'  said  I;  and  we  both  stood  at  the 
top  of  the  hatchway  ladder,  looking  toward  the  horizon, 
at  the  speck  of  a  schooner.  'By  jingo,  Collins!'  exclaimed 
the  planter,  chuckling,  'the  Yankee  is  gone  to  be  a  pirate !' 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"MoRE  than  once  that  night,"  resumed  Captain  Collins,  "L 
woke  up  with  a  start,  at  thought  of  our  late  adventures  in 
the  river  Nouries — fancying  I  was  still  waiting  for  the  turn 
of  tide  to  bring  down  the  boats  or  the  schooner,  and  had 
gone  to  sleep,  when  that  horrible  sound  through  the  cabin 
skylight  seemed  full  in  my  ears  again.  However,  the  wel- 
tering wash  of  the  water  under  the  ship's  timbers  below  one's 
head  was  proof  enough  we  were  well  to  sea;  and,  being 
dog-tired,  I  turned  over  each  time  with  a  new  gusto — not  to 
speak  of  the  happy  sort  of  feeling  that  ran  all  through  me, 
I  scarce  knew  why ;  though  no  doubt  one  might  have  dreamed 
plenty  of  delightful  dreams  without  remembering  them,  more 
especially  after  such  a  perfect  seventh  heaven  as  I  had 
found  myself  in  for  a-  moment  or  two,  when  Violet  Hyde's 
hand  first  touched  mine,  and  when  I  carried  her  in  after  she 
had  actually  saved  my  life. 

"The  broad  daylight  through  our  quarter-gallery  window 
roused  me  at  last  altogether;  and  on  starting  up  I  saw  Tom 
Westwood,  half -dressed,  shaving  himself  by  an  inch  or  two 
of  broken  looking-glass  in  regular  nautical  style — that 's  to 
say,  watching  for  the  rise  of  the  ship — as  she  had  the  wind 
evidently  on  her  opposite  beam,  and  there  appeared  to  be 
pretty  much  of  a  long  swell  afloat,  with  a  breeze  brisk  enough 
to  make  her  heel  to  it;  while  the  clear  horizon,  seen  shining 
through  the  port  to  north-westward,  over  the  dark-blue 
heave  of  water,  showed  it  was  far  on  in  the  morning.  'Well, 
Ned,'  said  Westwood,  turning  round,  'you  seemed  to  be  en- 
joying it,  in  spite  of  the  warm  work  you  must  have  had  last 
night  on  board  here!  WThy,  I  thought  you  had  been  with 
us  in  the  boats,  after  all,  till  I  found,  by  the  good  joke  the 
cadets  made  of  it,  that  that  puppy  of  a  mate  had  left  you 
still  locked  up  on  account  of  some  fancy  he  had  got  into  his 
head  of  your  being  in  partnership  with  the  schooner!  .For 


244  THE  GREEN  HAND 

heaven's  sake,  though,  my  dear  fellow,  wash  your  face  and 
shave — you  look  fearfully  suspicious  just  now!' 

"  'No  wonder !'  said  I :  and  I  gave  him  an  account  of  the 
matter,  leaving  out  most  of  what  regarded  the  young  lady; 
Westwood  telling  me,  in  his  turn,  so  much  about  their  boat 
expedition  as  I  did  n't  know  before  from  the  planter.  Every- 
thing went  to  certify  what  I  believed  all  along,  till  this  sud- 
den affair  in  the  river.  The  schooner's  people  had  plainly 
some  cue  in  keeping  hold  of  our  passengers,  but  had  n't  ex- 
pected to  see  us  so  soon  again,  or  perhaps  at  all — as  was  shown 
by  their  hailing  the  boats  at  once  in  a  pretended  friendly 
way,  whenever  they  came  in  sight  up  the  creek;  while  Ford 
and  the  rest  shouted  with  delight,  off  her  bulwarks,  at 
sound  of  the  mate's  voice. 

"  'I  tell  you  what,  Collins,'  continued  Westwood,  'this  may 
be  all  very  well  for  you,  who  are  continually  getting  into 
scrapes  and  out  of  them,  and  don't  seem  to  care  much 
whether  you  ship  on  board  an  Indiaman  or  a  corn-brig — 
you  can  always  find  something  to  do — but  to  me  the  service 
is  everything!'  'Well,  well,'  said  I,  hastily,  'I'm  much  mis- 
taken if  we  don't  find  something  to  do  in  India,  Tom — only 
wait,  and  that  uncle  of  yours  will  make  us  all  right;  for 
all  we  know,  there  may  be  news  from  Europe  to  meet  us, 
and  I  must  say  I  don't  like  the  notion  of  being  born  too 
late  for  turning  out  an  admiral.  I  'm  sure,  for  my  part, 
I  wish  old  Nap  well  out  of  that  stone  cage  of  his!'  'No, 
no,  Ned/  said  Westwood,  'I  ought  to  clear  myself  at  home 
first;  and  sorry  I  am  that  I  gave  in  to  you  by  leaving 
England,  when  I  should  have  faced  the  consequences,  what- 
ever they  were.  Running  only  made  matters  worse,  Collins !' 
'No  doubt/  I  said;  'and  as  it  was  my  fault,  why,  deuce  take 
me,  Tom,  if  I  don't  manage  to  carry  you  out  scot-free !  De- 
pend on  it,  Captain  Duncombe's  friends  would  have  you 
strung  up  like  a  dog,  with  the  interest  he  had  and  sharp 
as  discipline  is  just  now/  Westwood  shuddered  at  the 
thought.  'I  fear  it  would  go  hard  with  me,  Ned/  said  he, 
'and  I  shan't  deny  that  these  few  weeks  have  brought  me 
back  a  taste  for  life.  But,  in  spite  of  all,  I'd  deliver  my- 
self up  to  the  first  king's  ship  we  speak,  or  go  home  in  some 
Indiaman  from  the  Cape — but  for  one  thing,  Collins!'  'Ah!' 
said  T,  'what's  that?'  Westwood  gave  me  a  curious  half- 
look,  and  said,  'One  person  I  mean,  Ned — and  I  shouldn't 

like  her  to  hear  of  me  being '  'Yes,  yes/  said  I  stiffly,  'I 

know/  'It  must  have  been  by  guess,  then!'  answered  he. 
'Often  as  we  've  talked  of  her  during  the  voyage,  I  thought 


A  SEA  STORY  245 

you  didn't  know  we  had  met  frequently  in  London  before 
you  came  home,  and — and — the  fact  is,  1  was  n't  sure  you 
would  like  me  to —  'Westwood,'  said  I,  quickly,  'Tom 
Westwood — what  I  have  to  ask  is — do  you  love  her  ?'  'If  ever 
a  man  loved  a  woman,  Ned,'  was  his  answer,  'I  do  her;  but  if 
you —  'Have  you  any  chance,  then?'  I  broke  out.  'Ay, 
true — true  enough,  you  have  the  best  of  chances — your  way 
is  as  clear  as  could  be,  Westwood,  if  you  knew  it!  Only  I 

must  know  if  she  is  willing — does  she '  'I  got  leave  to 

write  to  her  in  London,'  answered  Westwood,  'and  I  did  so 
pretty  often,  you  may  be  sure;  but  I  only  had  one  short 
little  note  in  answer  to  the  last,  I  think  it  was — which  1 
had  in  my  breast  that  morning  on  Southsea  beach,  when  1 
expected  the  bullet  would  come  through  it !' 

"Here  Westwood  stooped  down  to  his  trunk,  and  took  out 
a  rose-colored  note,  wrapped  in  a  bit  of  paper;  1  standing 
the  while  fixed  to  the  deck,  not  able  to  speak,  till  he  was 
handing  it  to  me.  'No,  no!'  said  I,  turning  from  him 
angrily,  and  like  to  choke;  'that's  too  much,  Mr.  Westwood 
— pray  keep  your  own  love-letters  for  your  own  reading !' 
'There's  nothing  particular  in  it,  Ned,'  answered  he,  flush- 
ing a  little,  'only  there's  a  few  words  in  it  I'd  like  you 
to  see — don't  look  at  it  just  now,  but  tell  me  afterwards 
what  you  think.  You  ought  to  see  it,  as  the  matter  seems 
to  depend  on  you,  Ned;  and  if  you  object,  you  may  be 
sure,  so  far  as  I  'm  concerned,  't  is  all  over!' 

"Somehow  or  other,  the  look  of  the  little  folded  piece  of 
paper,  with  the  touch  and  the  scent  of  it,  as  Westwood 
slipped  it  into  my  hand,  made  it  stick  to  me.  1  caught 
one  glance  of  the  address  on  the  back,  written  as  if  fairy 
fingers  had  done  it,  and  I  suppose  I  slipped  it  into  my  coat 
as  I  went  out  of  the  berth,  meaning  to  go  aloft  in  the  foretop 
and  sicken  over  the  thought  at  my  leisure,  of  Violet  Hyde's 
having  ever  favored  another  man  so  far,  and  that  man  Tom 
Westwood.  The  strangeness  of  the  whole  affair,  as  I  took  it, 
never  once  struck  me;  all  that  I  minded  was  the  wretched 
feeling  I  had  in  me,  as  I  wished  I  could  put  the  Atlantic 
betwixt  me  and  them  all;  in  fact  a  hundred  things  before 
we  sailed,  and  during  the  passage,  seemed  all  at  once  to 
agree  with  what  I'd  just  heard;  and  I'd  have  given  thou- 
sands that  moment  it  had  been  some  one  else  than  West- 
wood,  just  that  I  might  wait  the  voyage  out  coolly,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  meeting  him  at  twelve  paces  the  first  morn- 
ing ashore. 

"On  the  larboard  side  of  the  berth-gangway,  opposite  our 


246  THE  GREEN   HAND 

door,  I  saw  the  old  planter's  standing  half  open,  and  Mr. 
Kollock  himself  with  his  shirt  and  trousers  on,  taking  in 
his  boots.  'Hallo,  Collins,  my  boy,'  he  sang  out,  eagerly, 
'come  here  a  moment,  I  've  got  something  to  show  you ! — 
Look,'  said  he,  standing  on  tiptoe  to  see  better  through  the 
half -port,  'there's  something  new  been  put  in  my  picture- 
frame  here  overnight,  I  think — ha !  ha !' 

"The  first  thing  that  caught  my  eye,  accordingly,  was  the 
gleam  of  a  sail  rising  from  over  the  swell  to  windward,  far 
away  off  our  larboard  quarter,  seemingly  rolling  before  the 
south-easter;  while  the  Indiaman  hove  her  big  side  steadily 
out  of  water,  with  her  head  across  the  other's  course,  and 
gave  us  a  sight  of  the  strange  sail  swinging  to  the  fair  wind, 
every  time  we  rose  on  the  surge.  'What  is  it,  eh?'  said  the 
planter,  turning  to  me,  'back  or  face,  Collins?  for,  bless  me, 
if  I  can  distinguish  tub  from  bucket,  with  all  this  bobbing 
about — great  deal  of  capital  indigo  wasted  hereabouts,  my 
dear  fellow!'  'Why,  you  may  make  out  the  two  breasts  of 
her  royals,'  said  I — 'a  brig,  I  think,  sir.'  'Not  that  abomin- 
able schooner  in  her  first  shape  again,  I  hope !'  exclaimed  he ; 
'perhaps  bringing  back  the  Yankee.'  'Too  square-shouldered 
for  that,  Mr.  Rollock,'  I  said ;  'in  fact  she  seems  to  be  signal- 
ling us;  yes,  by  Jove!  there's  the  long  pennant  at  her  fore- 
royal  masthead — she's  a  brig  of  war.  They  're  surely  asleep 
on  deck,  and  we  shall  have  a  shot  directly,  if  they  don't 
look  sharp !'  'You  'd  better  say  nothing  about  the  Yankee's 
absence,  Collins,'  put  in  the  planter,  'till  we  're  fairly  away. 
For  my  part,  I  really  have  no  notion  of  waiting  for  any- 
one— particularly  a  fellow  who  must  have  some  go-ahead 
scheme  in  his  noddle,  which  we  Indians  don't  want.  Quietly 
speaking,  my  dear  fellow,  I  shall  be  glad  if  we  're  rid  of  him !' 

"On  my  mentioning  what  sort  of  'notions'  were  found  in 
Mr.  Snout's  berth,  and  the  drowning  of  his  heathen  images, 
the  worthy  planter  went  into  perfect  convulsions,  till  I 
thought  I  should  have  to  slap  him  on  the  back  to  give  him 
breath.  'What  the  deuce !'  said  he  at  last ;  'Daniel  must  really 
have  something  worth  his  while  to  expect  before  he  'd  fail  to 
look  after  such  a  treasure !'  'Ah,'  said  I,  not  attending  to  him, 
as  I  heard  a  stir  on  deck,  'there  we  go  at  last,  clewing  up 
the  topsails,  I  suppose.'  'Seriously,  now,'  continued  Mr. 
Rollock,  'I  can  not  fathom  that  vessel  and  her  designs;  but  I 
bless  my  stars  at  getting  clear  off  from  the  company  of  that 
tall  Frenchman  with  his  moustache — can't  bear  a  moustache, 
Collins — always  reminds  me  of  those  cursed  Mahrattas  that 
burned  my  factory  once.  Could  n't  the  man  shave  like  a 


NEXT   MINUTE   THE   FIRE   OUT   OF  ONE  OF    HER   BOW-CHASERS   FLASHED 
OUT   BEHIND   THE   BLUE   BACK   OF    A   SWELL. 


A  SEA  STORY  247 

Christian,  I  wonder?  I  defy  you  to  enjoy  mullagatawny  soup 
and  not  make  a  beast  of  yourself,  with  ever  so  much  hair  over 
your  mouth.  By  the  way,  Collins,'  added  he,  eying  me,  'since 
I  saw  you  last,  you  've  let  your  whiskers  grow,  and  look  more 
like  one  of  your  nauticals  than  Ford  himself! — should  scarce 
have  known  you !  Any  of  it  owing  to  the  fair  one  up  yonder, 
eh  ?'  And  the  jolly  old  chap,  whose  own  huge  white  whiskers 
gave  him  the  cut  of  a  royal  Bengal  tiger,  pointed  with  his 
thumb  over  his  shoulder  towards  the  round-house  above,  with 
a  wink  of  his  funny  round  eye,  that  looked  at  you  like  a 
bird's.  'What  do  you  suppose  the  Frenchman  to  be  then, 
sir?'  asked  I,  gloomily.  'Oh,  either  a  madman,  a  spy,  or 
something  worse!  Just  guess  what  he  asked  me  suddenly 
one  morning — why,  if  I  were  n't  a  distinguished  savant,  and 
would  n't  like  to  study  the  botany  of  some  island !  "No, 
Monsieur,  not  at  all,"  replied  I,  in  fearfully  bad  French. 
"The  geology,  then?"  persisted  he,  with  a  curious  gleam  in 
his  fierce  black  eyes — "does  the  research  of  Monsieur  lie  in 
that  direction?"  "Why,  no,"  I  answered  carelessly,  "I  don't 
care  a  sacre  about  stones,  or  anything  of  the  kind,  indeed; 
indigo  is  my  particular  line,  which  may  be  called  botany,  in  a 
way — I  'm  perhaps  prejudiced  in  favor  of  it,  Monsieur !" 
The  Frenchman  leaned  his  tufted  chin  on  his  hand,'  con- 
tinued Mr.  Rollock,  'meditated  a  bit,  then  glanced  at  me 
again,  as  if  he  did  n't  care  though  I  were  studying  seaweed  in 
the  depth  of  the  ocean  rolling  round  us,  and  stalked  down- 
stairs. Then  he  took  to  Mrs.  Brady  again,  and  lastly  to  the 
Yankee,  whose  conversations  with  him,  I  fancy,  had  a  twang  of 
both  commerce  and  politics.'  'What  do  you  think  of  it  all,  Mr. 
Bollock  ?'  inquired  I,  rather  listlessly.  'It  did  n't  strike  me 
at  the  time,'  said  the  planter,  'but  now  I  just  ask  you,  Col- 
lins, if  there  ain't  a  certain  great  personage  studying  geology 
at  present  in  a  certain  island,  not  very  far  away,  1  suppose, 
where  there  's  plenty  of  it,  and  deuced  little  botany,  too,  1 
imagine?'  To  this  question  of  the  old  gentleman's  I  gave 
nothing  but  a  half-stupid  sort  of  stare,  thinking  as  I  was 
at  the  same  time  of  something  else  I  cared  more  about. 

"By  Jupiter!  though,'  cried  I  on  a  sudden,  'instead  of 
lit  Diving  the  ship  to,  I  do  believe  we've  set  topmast  stun-sails, 
judging  from  the  way  she  pitches  into  the  water;  there's  the 
brig  nearing  the  wind  a  point  or  two  in  chase,  too;  why,  the 
fellow  that  has  charge  of  the  deck  must  be  mad,  sir!'  Next 
minute  the  fire  out  of  one  of  her  bow-chasers  flashed  out 
behind  the  blue  back  of  a  swell,  and  the  sudden  thud  of 
it  canie  rolling  down  to  leeward  over  the  space  betwixt  us, 


248  THE  GREEN  HAND 

angrily,  so  to  speak;  as  the  brig's  fore-course  mounted  with 
a  wave,  the  sun  shining  clear  on  the  seams  and  reef-points, 
till  you  caught  sight  of  the  anchor  hanging  from  one  bow, 
and  the  men  running  in  her  lee  stun-sail  booms  upon  the 
yardarms.  The  planter  and  I  went  on  deck  at  once,  where 
we  found  a  fine  breeze  blowing,  far  out  of  sight  of  land,  the 
Indiaman  rushing  ahead  stately  enough;  while  our  young 
fourth  officer  appeared  to  have  just  woke  up,  and  the  watch 
were  still  rubbing  their  eyes,  as  if  every  man  had  been 
'caulking  it,'  after  last  night's  work.  Even  Mr.  Finch,  when 
he  came  hastily  up,  seemed  rather  doubtful  what  to  do,  till 
the  salt  old  third-mate  assured  him  the  brig  was  a  British 
sloop-of-war,  as  anyone  accustomed  to  reckoning  sticks  and 
canvas  at  sea  could  tell  by  this  time;  upon  which  our  top- 
sails were  clewed  up,  stun-sails  boom-ended,  and  the  ship  hove 
into  the  wind  to  wait  for  the  brig. 

"When  the  brig's  mainyard  swung  aback  within  fifty 
fathoms  of  our  weather-quarter,  hailing  us  as  she  brought 
to,  I  had  plenty  to  think  of,  for  my  part.  There  she  was,  as 
square-countered  and  flat-breasted  a  ten-gun  model  as  ever 
ran  her  nose  under  salt  water,  or  turned  the  turtle  in  a 
Bahama  squall;  though  pleasant  enough  she  looked,  dipping 
as  we  rose,  and  prancing  up  opposite  us  again  with  a  curtesy, 
the  brine  dripping  from  her  bright  copper  sheathing,  the 
epaulets  and  gold  bands  glancing  above  her  black  bulwarks, 
topped  by  the  white  hammock-cloth ;  marines  in  her  waist,  the 
men  clustering  forward  to  see  us,  and  squinting  sharp  up  at 
our  top-hamper.  It  made  one  ashamed,  to  take  in  the 
taunt,  lightsome  set  her  spars  had,  tall  and  white,  with  a 
rake  in  them,  and  every  rope  running  clean  to  its  place; 
not  a  spot  about  her,  hull  or  rig,  but  all  English  and  ship- 
shape, to  the  very  gather  of  her  courses  and  topgallant-sails 
in  the  lines,  and  the  snowy  hollow  her  two  broad  topsails 
made  for  the  wind,  as  they  brought  it  in  betwixt  them  to 
keep  her  steady  on  the  spot. 

"'His  Britannic  Majesty's  sloop  "Podargus"!'  came  back 
in  exchange  for  our  mate's  answer ;  and  though  't  was  cu- 
rious to  me  to  think  of  meeting  the  uniform  again  in  five 
minutes,  I  saw  plainly  this  was  one  of  the  nice  points  that 
Westwood  and  I  might  have  to  weather.  Your  brig-cruisers 
are  the  very  sharpest  fellows  alive,  so  far  as  regards  board- 
ing a  merchant  craft;  if  they  find  the  least  smell  of  a 
rat,  they  '11  overhaul  your  hold  to  the  very  dunnage  about  the 
keelson ;  and  I  knew  that,  if  they  made  out  Westwood,  they  'd 
be  sure  to  have  me,  too;  so  you  may  fancy  that,  during 


A  SEA  STORY  249 

the  short  time  her  boat  took  to  drop  and  pull  under  our 
quarter,  I  was  making  up  my  mind  as  to  the  course.  In 
fact,  I  was  almost  resolved  to  leave  the  ship  at  any  rate, 
feeling  as  I  did  after  what  I'd  heard;  but  while  most  of 
the  passengers  were  running  about  and  calling  below  for 
their  shoes  and  what  not,  the  Judge  and  his  daughter  came 
out  of  the  round-house,  and  I  caught  a  single  glance  from 
her  for  a  moment,  as  she  turned  to  look  at  the  brig,  that 
held  me  at  the  instant  like  an  anchor  in  a  strong  tideway. 

"I  kept  my  breath  as  the  lieutenant's  hand  laid  hold  of 
the  manrope  at  the  head  of  the  side-ladder,  expecting  his  first 
question;  while  ho  swung  himself  actively  on  deck,  look- 
ing round  for  a  second,  and  followed  by  another;  the  wide- 
awake looking  young  middy  in  the  boat  folding  his  arms, 
and  squinting  up  sideways  at  the  ladies  with  an  air  as 
knowing  as  if  he'd  lived  fifty  years  in  the  world,  instead 
of  perhaps  thirteen. 

"The  younger  of  the  lieutenants  took  off  his  cap  most 
politely,  eying  the  fair  passengers  with  as  much  respect  as 
he  gave  cool  indifference  to  the  cadets;  the  other,  who  was  a 
careful-like  working  first-luff,  said  directly  to  Mr.  Finch, 
'Well,  sir,  you  seemed  inclined  to  lead  us  a  bit  of  a  chase; 
but  I  don't  think,'  added  he,  smiling  from  the  Indiaman  to 
the  brig,  'you  'd  have  cost  us  much  trouble  after  all !'  Here 
Finch  hurried  out  his  explanation,  in  a  half -sulky  way,  when 
the  naval  man  cut  him  short  by  saying  that  'Captain  Wullis 
desired  to  know'  if  we  had  touched  at  St.  Helena.  'May  I 
ask,  sir,'  went  on  the  officer,  finding  we  had  preferred  the 
Cape,  'if  you  command  this  vessel — or  is  the  master  not  on 
deck — Captain — Captain  Wilson,  I  think  you  said?'  The 
mate  said  something  in  a  lower  voice,  and  the  lieutenant 
bared  his  head  more  respectfully  than  before,  seeing  the 
Company's  ensign,  which  had  been  lowered  half -apeak  while 
the  boat  was  under  our  side;  after  which  Finch  drew  him  to 
the  capstan,  telling  him,  as  I  guessed,  the  whole  affair  of  the 
schooner,  by  way  of  a  great  exploit,  with  hints  of  her  being  a 
pirate  or  such-like. 

"The  brig's  officer,  however,  was  evidently  too  busy  a 
man,  and  seemingly  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  get  back,  for 
listening  much  to  such  a  rigmarole,  as  he  no  doubt  thought 
it;  they  had  been  at  the  Cape,  and  were  bound  for  St.  Helena 
again,  where  she  was  one  of  the  cruisers  on  guard;  so  that 
what  with  Finch's  story,  and  what  with  the  crowd  round 
the  second  lieutenant,  all  anxious  to  get  the  news,  I  saw  it 


250  THE  GREEN  HAND 

would  n't  cost  Westwood  and  me  great  pains  to  keep  clear 
of  notice. 

"There  were  some  riots  in  London,  and  three  men  hanged 
for  a  horrid  murder,  the  Duke  of  Northumberland's  death,  not 
to  speak  of  a  child  born  with  two  heads,  or  something — all 
since  we  left  England.  Then  there  was  Lord  Exmouth  come 
home  from  Algiers;  and  Fort  Hattrass,  I  think  it  was,  taken 
in  India,  which  made  every  cadet  prick  up  his  ears;  Admiral 
Plampin  was  arrived  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  too,  in  the 
Conqueror,'  seventy-four,  and  on  his  way  steering  for  St. 
Helena,  to  take  Sir  Pulteney  Malcolm's  place.  All  of  a  sud- 
den, I  heard  the  young  luff  begin  to  mention  a  captain  of  a 
frigate''s  having  been  shot  two  mouths  ago,  by  his  own  first 
lieutenant,  on  Southsea  Beach,  and  the  lieutenant  being  sup- 
posed to  have  gone  off  in  some  outward-bound  ship.  'By  the 
bye,'  said  the  officer  to  Mr.  Rollock,  'you  must  have  left  about 
that  time — did  you  touch  at  Portsmouth?'  'Why,  yes,'  ans- 
wered the  planter,  'we  did.  What  were  the  parties'  names?' 
I  edged  over  to  Westwood  near  the  head  of  the  companion, 
and  whispered  to  him  to  go  below  to  our  berth,  in  case  of  their 
happening  to  attend  to  us  more  particularly ;  and  the  farther 
apart  we  two  kept  the  better,  I  thought.  The  officer  at  once 
gave  Captain  Duncombe's  name,  but  did  n't  remember  the 
other;  on  which  he  turned  to  his  first  lieutenant  with,  'I  say, 
Mr.  Aldridge,  d'  you  recollect  the  man's  name  that  shot  the 
captain  of  the  "JSPOreste,"  as  they  called  her?'  'What,  that 
bad  business  ?'  said  the  other ;  'no,  Mr.  Moore,  I  really  don't — 
I  hope  he's  far  enough  off  by  this  time!'  My  breath  came 
again  at  this,  for  it  had  just  come  into  my  mind  that  Finch, 
who  was  close  by,  had  got  hold  of  the  name,  although  he  fan- 
cied it  mine. 

"I  was  sauntering  down  the  stair,  thinking  how  much  may 
hang  ..t  times  on  a  man's  good  memory,  when  I  heard  the  first 
lieutenant  say,  'By  the  bye,  though,  now  I  recollect,  was  n't 
it  Westwood?'  'Yes,  yes,  Westwood  it  was!'  said  the  other. 
Then  came  an  exclamation  from  Finch,  and  shortly  after  he 
and  the  first  lieutenant  stepped  down  together,  talking 
privately  of  the  matter,  I  suppose,  to  the  cuddy,  where  I  had 
gone  myself.  The  lieutenant  looked  up  at  me  seriously  once 
or  twice,  then  went  on  deck,  and  a  few  minutes  afterwards 
the  brig's  boat  was  pulling  towards  her  again,  while  the 
passengers  flocked  below  to  breakfast.  I  saw  the  thing  was 
settled;  the  mate  could  scarcely  keep  in  his  triumph,  as  he 
eyed  me  betwixt  surprise  and  dislike,  though  rather  more 
respectfully  than  before.  As  for  Westwood,  he  sat  down  with 


A  SEA  STORY  251 

the  rest,  quite  ignorant  of  what  had  turned  up;  notwith- 
standing he  threw  an  uneasy  look  or  two  through  the  cuddy 
port  at  the  brig,  still  curvetting  to  windward  of  us,  with  her 
mainyard  aback;  for  my  part,  I  made  up  my  mind,  in  the 
meanwhile,  to  bear  the  brunt  of  it. 

"  'T  was  no  matter  to  me  now  where  I  went ;  whereas,  with 
Westwood,  it  was  but  a  toss-up  betwixt  a  rope  and  a  prison,  if 
they  sent  him  back  to  England.  No  fear  of  my  being  tried 
in  his  place,  of  course;  but  if  there  had  been,  why,  to  get 
away  both  from  him  and  her,  I  'd  have  to  run  the  chance ! 
There  was  a  bitter  sort  of  pleasure,  even,  in  the  thought  of 
taking  one's  self  out  of  the  way — to  some  purpose,  too,  if  I 
saved  a  fellow  like  my  old  schoolmate  from  a  court-martial 
sentence,  and  a  man  far  worthier  to  win  the  heart  of  such  a 
creature  than  myself :  while  the  worst  of  it  was,  I  was  afraid 
I  'd  have  come  to  hate  Tom  Westwood  if  we  had  stayed  near 
each  other  much  longer. 

"Accordingly,  I  no  sooner  heard  the  dip  of  the  gig's  oars 
coming  alongside  lagain,  than  one  of  the  stewards  brought  me 
u  quiet  message  from  Mr.  Finch,  that  he  wanted  to  see  me  on 
deck;  upon  which  I  rose  off  my  chair  just  as  quietly,  and 
walked  up  the  companion.  The  fact  was — as  the  fellow  could 
scarce  have  ventured  to  look  his  passengers  in  the  face  again 
after  a  low  piece  of  work  like  this — 't  was  his  cue  to  keep  all 
underhand,  and  probably  lay  it  to  the  score  of  my  actions 
aboard,  or  something ;  however,  he  could  n't  throw  any  dust 
of  the  kind  in  the  second  lieutenant's  eyes,  who  gave  him  a 
cold  glance  as  he  stepped  on  deck,  and,  picking  me  out  at 
once  where  I  stood,  inquired  if  I  were  the  person.  The  first 
mate  nodded,  whereupon  the  brig's  officer  walked  towards  me, 
with  a  gentlemanly  enough  bow,  and,  'I  regret  to  have  to 
state,  sir,'  said  he,  'that  Captain  Wallis  desires  to  see  you, 
particularly,  aboard  the  brig.'  'Indeed,  sir,'  answered  I, 
showing  very  little  surprise,  I  dare  say,  gloomy  as  I  felt; 
'then  the  sooner  the  better,  I  suppose.'  'Why,  yes,'  said  the 
lieutenant,  seemingly  confused  lest  he  should  meet  my  eye, 
'we  're  anxious  to  make  use  of  this  breeze,  you — you  know,  sir.' 
'Hadn't  Mr.  Collins — this  gentleman — better  take  his  traps 
with  him,  Lieutenant  Moore  ?'  said  Finch,  free  and  easy  wise. 
'No,  sir,'  said  the  young  officer,  sternly,  'we  can  spare  time_to 
send  for  them, if  necessary;  of  course  you  will  keep  the  India- 
man  in  the  wind,  sir,  till  the  brig  squares  her  mainyard.'  I 
gave  Finch  a  single  look  of  sheer  contempt,  and  swung  myself 
down  by  the  manropes  from  the  gangway  into  the  boat ; 
the  lieutenant  followed  me,  and  next  minute  we  were  pulling 


252  THE  GREEN  HAND 

for  the  brig's  quarter.  The  moment  I  found  myself  out  of  the 
'Seringapatam,'  however,  my  heart  nigh-hand  failed  me,  more 
especially  at  sight  of  the  quarter-gallery  window  I  had  seen 
the  light  from,  on  the  smooth  of  the  swell,  that  first  night  we 
got  to  sea.  I  even  began  to  think  if  there  were  n't  some  way 
of  passing  myself  clear  off,  without  hauling  in  Westwood; 
but  it  would  n't  do.  Before  I  well  knew,  we  were  on  board, 
and  the  lieutenant  showing  me  down  the  after-hatchway  to 
the  captain's  cabin. 


-    - 
CHAPTER  XX. 

"THE  captain  was  sitting  with  one  foot  upon  the  carronade 
in  his  outer-cabin,  looking  through  the  port  at  the  heavy 
Indiaman,  as  she  slued  about  and  plunged  jn  the  blue  surge, 
with  all  sorts  of  ugly  ropes  hanging  from  her  bows,  dirty 
pairs  of  trousers  towing  clear  of  the  water  when  she  lifted, 
and  rusty  stains  at  her  hawse-holes.  A  stout-built,  hard- 
featured  man  he  was,  with  bushy  black  eyebrows,  and  griz- 
zled black  hair  and  whiskers,  not  to  speak  of  a  queer,  anxious, 
uneasy  look  in  the  keen  of  his  eyes  when  he  turned  to  me. 
However,  he  got  half  up'  on  my  coming  in,  and  I  saw  he  was 
lame  a  little  of  one  foot,  while  he  overhauled  me  all  over  with 
his  eye.  'I  'm  sorry  to  have  to  send  for  you  in  this  way,  sir/ 
said  he,  rather  surprised  at  my  rig,  apparently — 'very  sorry, 
sir,  and  no  more  about  it ;  but  I  can't  help  it,  confound  me — 
must  do  my  duty.'  'Certainly,  sir,'  I  said.  'In  fact,'  said 
Captain  Wallis,  'the  Admiral  ordered  us  to  see  after  you — 
him,  that's  to  say — at  the  Cape,  you  know.'  'Ay,  ay,  sir,' 
said  I,  watching  the  Indiaman's  poop-nettings  through  the 
port  over  his  head,  as  he  sat  down.  'Pooh,  pooh,'  continued 
he,  *you  can't  be  the  man — just  say  you  don't  belong  to  the 
service — confound  it,.  I'll  pass  you!'  'Why,  sir,'  said  T,  'I 
can't  exactly  say  that.'  'I  hear  you're  Westwood  of  the 
"Orestes,"  though,'  said  he ;  'now  I  don't  ask  you  to  say  no,  sir 
— but  everybody  knew  the  "Orestes,"  and  I  don't  like  the 
thing,  I  must  say — so  perhaps  you  're  able  to  swear  he  is  not 
aboard  the  Indiaman — just  now,  you  know, sir — just  now,  eh  ?' 

"This  tack  of  his  rather  dumfoundered  me,  seeing  the 
captain  of  the  brig  meant  it  well;  but  deuced  unlucky  kind- 
ness it  was,  since  I  could  n't  swear  to  the  very  thing  he  fan- 
cied so  safe,  and  his  glance  was  as  quick  as  lightning,  so  ho 


A  SEA  STORY  253 

caught  the  sense  of  my  blank  look  in  a  moment — as  I  fancied, 
at  least.  'The  fact  is,  sir/  added  he,  'the  surgeon  told  me  just 
now  he  knows  Lieutenant  West-wood  well  enough  by  sight,  so 
they  locked  him  up !  You  see  we  could  have  made  you  out  at 
any  rate,  sir — however,  we  'il  let  the  doctor  stay  till  we  're 
clear  of  the  Indiaman,  I  think.'  'Then  you  take  me  for  the 
gentleman  you  speak  of,  Captain  Wallis  ?'  asked  I  faintly ;  for 
at  the  same  moment  I  could  see  a  light-colored  dress  and  a 
white  ribbon  fluttering  on  the  'SeringapatamV  poop,  the  look 
of  which  sent  the  blood  about  my  heart.  'T  was  hard  to  settle 
betwixt  a  feeling  of  the  kind,  and  fear  for  Westwood;  it 
struck  me  Captain  Wallis  was  n't  very  cagar  in  the  affair,  and 
't  was  on  my  lips  to  assure  him  I  was  n't  the  man.  'Hark'ee/ 
broke  in  he,  with  almost  a  wink,  and  a  smile  ready  to 
break  cut  on  his  mouth,  'the  short  and  the  long  of  it  is,  I'll 
take  you!  We  must  hn*.  ^  somebody  to  show  in  the  case; 
though  now  I  remember,  ihero  was  some  one  else  said  to  've 
gone  off  with  you — Liri  '.  -  won't  trouble  him!  If  we've 
brought  axray  the  wrong  man,  why,  hang  it,  so  much  the 
better !  If  you  're  Westwood,  I  can  tell  you,  they  '11  run  ye  up 
to  a  yardarm,  sir !  Much  more  comfortable  than  ten  years  or 
so  in  a  jail,  too,  as — as  no  one  knows  better  than  /  do  myself.' 

"Here  the  captain's  face  darkened,  his  eye  gleamed,  and 
he  rose  with  a  limp  1  ~>  ring  a  hand-bell  on  the  table.  'White,' 
said  he  to  the  marine  that  put  his  head  in  at  the  door,  with 
his  hand  up  to  it,  'desire  the  first  lieutenant,  from  me,  to  send 
a  boat  aboard  ic  ;  this  gentleman's  things.'  'I  'm  afraid,  sir/ 
continued  he  gravely  to  me,  'you  '11  have  to  reckon  yourself 
under  arrest — but  you  '11  find  the  gentlemen  in  the  gun-room 
good  company,  I  hope,  for  a  day  or  two,  till  we  make  St. 
Helena/  I  saw  the  captain's  mind  was  made  up,  and  for  the 
life  of  me  I  did  n't  know  what  to  say  against  it ;  but  speak  1 
could  not,  so  with  a  stiff  bow  and  a  sick  sort  of  a  smile  1 
turned- out  of  the  t.~or,  and  walked  along  to  the  gun-room, 
which  was  empty.  I  could  see  the  boat  soon  after  under  the 
ship's  side,  dipping  and  rising  as  they  handed  down  my 
couple  of  portmanteaus  to  the  man-o'-war's  men;  the  young 
reefer  came  down  again  as  nimble  as  a  monkey,  with  some 
letters  in  his  hand,  took  off  his  cap  to  some  ladies  above, 
and  sang  out  to  give  way;  five  or  six  flashing  feathers  of  the 
oars  in  the  sunlight,  and  they  were  coming  round  the  brig's 
stern. 

"The  brig  was  just  squaring  away  her  mainyard  at  the 
whistle  from  the  boatswain's  mates,  when  the  whole  run  of 
the  Indiaman's  bulwarks  was  crowded  with  the  passengers' 


254  THE  GREEN  HAND 

and  men's  faces,  watching  the  brig  gather  way  to  pass 
ahead;  I  could  hear  the  officers  on  deck  hail  the  India 
mates,  wishing  them  a  good  voyage,  the  ladies  bowing  and 
waving  their  handkerchiefs  to  the  British  Union-Jack.  Some 
sort  of  confusion  seemed  to  get  up,  however,  about  the  ship's 
taffrail,  where  Rollock,  Ford,  and  some  others  were  standing 
together;  the  planter  jumped  up  all  at  once  on  the  quarter- 
mouldings  nearest  the  brig,  then  jumped  down  again,  and 
his  straw  hat  could  be  seen  hurrying  towards  the  quarter- 
deck. 

"Next  I  caught  a  bright  glimpse  of  Violet  Hyde's  face,  as 
the  sun  shot  on  it  free  of  the  awnings — her  eyes  wandering 
with  the  brig's  motion,  I  fancied,  along  the  deck  above  me, 
till  suddenly  she  seemed  to  start,  and  Westwood  appeared 
behind  her.  The  next  thing  I  saw  was  the  black-faced  figure- 
head of  the  'Seringapatam'  rising  below  her  bowsprit,  about 
sixty  yards  from  the  gun-room  port  where  I  was,  and  down 
she  went  again  with  a  heavy  plash,  as  Tom  Westwood  himself 
leaped  up  between  the  knight-heads  at  the  bow,  hailing  the 
brig's  deck  with  a  voice  like  a  trumpet.  'Ahoy !  the  "Podar- 
gus"  ahoy!  For  mercy's  sake,  heave  to  again,  sir!'  he  sung 
out.  'I  'm  the  man  you  want !'  'The  Indiaman  ahoy !'  I  heard 
Captain  Wallis  himself  hail  back.  'What  d'  ye  say  ?'  The 
creak  of  our  yards,  with  the  flap  of  the  jib,  and  the  men's  feet, 
drowned  Westwood's  second  hail,  as  it  came  sharp  up  to 
windward;  the  sailors  in  the  Indiaman's  bows  were  grinning 
at  him  behind,  while  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  brig  shouted 
gruffly  ihat  she  had  no  time  to  wait  for  more  letters;  and  I 
heard  the  gun-room  steward  say  to  the  marine,  on  going  out 
with  the  dirty  breakfast-cloth,  he  wondered  if  'that  parson 
cove  thought  the  "Pedarkis"  wanted  a  chapling,'  or  was  only 
'vun  of  these  fellers  that 's  so  troublesome  to  see  the  French 
llemperor.' 

"  'Well,'  said  the  marine,  '  't  was  pretty  queer  if  he  took 
the  "Pedarkis"  for  the  ship  to  carry  him  there.  I  don't  think 
the  captain  would  let  a  rat  into  the  island  if  he  could  help 
it'  'Not  he,'  said  the  steward;  'plenty  on  'em  in  already,  Vite, 
my  man — I  do  think  they  used  to  swim  off  on  board  here,  by 
the  way  our  cheese  vent.'  All  this  time  I  never  stirred  from 
the  port,  watching  with  my  chin  on  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  till 
the  Indiaman  was  half  a  mile  to  windward  of  us,  her  big  hull 
still  rising  and  falling  on  the  same  swells,  topped  with  clusters 
of  heads;  her  topsails  lowered  in  honor  of  the  flag,  the 
ensign  blowing  out  half-mast  high  for  the  death  of  Captain 
Williamson;  a  long  wash  of  the  water  ran  outside  the  brig's 


A  SEA  STORY  255 

timbers,  surge  after  surge,  and  the  plunge  at  her  bows  showed 
how  fast  she  began  to  run  nor'-westward  before  the  wind. 
You  may  well  fancy  my  state,  after  all  I  'd  done  for  weeks ; 
in  fact,  one  scarce  knew  the  extent  of  what  he  'd  felt,  what 
he  'd  looked  forward  to,  till  he  found  himself  fairly  adrift 
from  it ;  't  would  even  have  been  nothing,  after  all,  could  I 
just  have  thought  of  Violet  Hyde  as  I  'd  done  two  hours  ago. 
on  waking,  with  last  night  in  the  river  on  my  mind. 

"As  it  was,  't  would  have  taken  little  to  make  me  jump  out 
of  the  port  into  the  sweep  of  blue  water  swelling  toward  the 
brig's  counter;  the  'Seriiigapatam'  being  by  this  time  astern. 
I  could  u't  even  see  her,  or  aught  save  the  horizon,  to  wind- 
ward ;  but  at  this  moment  the  young  second  lieutenant  came 
below*  and,  seeing  me,  he  began  in  a  polite  enough  way,  with 
a  kindly  manner  about  it,  trying  to  raise  my  spirits.  'I  sup- 
pose, sir/  said  I,  rather  sulkily  I  dare  say,  'I  can  have  a 
berth  just  now?'  'Oh,  certainly,'  said  he,  'the  steward  has 
orders  to  see  to  it  at  once.  Will  you  come  on  deck  a  minute 
or  two  in  the  meantime,  sir  ?' 

"I  looked  back  from  the  ship  astern  to  the  brig-of-war's 
clean  white  decks,  flush  fore  and  aft,  with  the  men  all  forward 
at  their  stations,  neatly  dressed  in  regular  man-o'-war  style, 
every  one  alike — a  sight  that  would  have  done  me  good  at 
another  time,  small  as  she  was  by  comparison;  but  the  very 
thought  of  the  Indiaman's  lumbering  poop  and  galleries  was 
too  much  for  me — 't  was  as  if  you  'd  knocked  out  those  two 
round-house  door  of  hers,  and  let  in  a  gush  of  bare  sky 
instead.  The  ship-shape  man-o'-war  cut  of  things  was  noth- 
ing, I  fancied,  to  the  snug  spot  under  those  topgallant  bul- 
warks of  hers,  and  the  breezy  poop  all  a-flutter  with  muslin  of 
an  evening,  where  you  found  books  and  little  basket  affairs 
stuck  into  the  coils  of  rope.  I  thought  the  old  'Seringapatam' 
never  looked  so  well,  as  she  commenced  trimming  sail  on  a 
wind,  beginning  to  go  drive  ahead,  with  a  white  foam  at  her 
bows,  and  her  whole  length  broadside-on  to  us.  All  at  once  we 
saw  her  clew  up  courses  and  to'gallant-sails,  till  she  was 
standing  slowly  off  under  the  three  topsails  and  jib;  the  two 
lieutenants  could  n't  understand  what  she  was  about,  and  the 
captain  put  the  glass  to  his  eye,  after  which  he  said  something 
to  the  second  lieutenant,  who  went  forward  directly. 

"The  next  thing  I  saw  was  the  Indiaman  coming  up  in 
the  wind  again  for  about  a  minute;  she  had  her  stern  nearly 
to  us,  when  the  moment  after,  as  she  rose  upon  a  long  sea, 
you  saw  something  flash  white  off  her  lee  gangway  in  the 
sunlight,  that  dropped  against  it  into  the  hollow  of  a  wave. 


256  THE  GREEN  HAND 

The  next  minute  she  fell  off  again  with  her  topsails  full,  and 
the  first  shower  of  spray  was  rising  across  her  forefoot,  when 
the  flash  of  a  gun  broke  out  of  her  side,  and  the  sound  came 
down  to  us;  then  a  second  and  a  third.  The  brig  gave  her 
the  same  number  in  answer,  and  as  soon  as  the  smoke 
betwixt  us  had  cleared  away,  the  ship  could  be  seen  under 
full  sail  to  the  south-westward  by  west.  'That 's  her  poor 
skipper's  hammock  dropped  alongside,  gentlemen,'  said  Cap- 
tain Wallis  to  his  officers;  'God  be  with  him.'  'Amen,' 
said  the  first  lieutenant,  and  we  put  our  caps  on  again.  'Set 
stun-sails,  Mr.  Aldridge,'  said  the  captain,  limping  down  the 
hatchway;  as  for  me,  1  leaned  I  don't  know  how  long  over  the 
brig's  taflrail,  watching  the  ship's  canvas  grow  in  one,  through 
the  width  of  air  betwixt  us;  my  heart  full,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, not  to  say  what  notions  came  into  my  head  of  what 
might  happen  to  her  under  Finch's  charge,  ere  she  reached 
Bombay.  No  one  belonging  to  the  brig  spoke  to  me,  out  of 
kindness,  no  doubt;  and  the  ship  was  hull-down  on  the 
horizon,  to  my  fancy,  with  somewhat  of  a  figure  like  hers, 
when  she  stood  with  the  cashmere  shawl  over  her  head  in  the 
dusk.  Then  I  went  gloomily  down  to  my  berth,  where  I  kept 
close  by  myself  till  I  fell  asleep,  though  the  gun-room  steward 
was  sent  to  me  more  than  once  to  join  the  officers. 

"It  was  n't  till  the  next  day,  in  fact,  when  I  went  on  the 
quarter-deck  at  noon,  wearied  for  a  fresher  gulp  of  air,  that  1 
saw  any  of  them;  and  the  breeze  having  fallen  lighter  that 
morning,  they  were  too  busy  trimming  sail  and  humoring 
her  to  give  me  much  notice.  I  must  say  I  had  seldom  scon  a 
commander  seem  more  impatient  about  the  sailing  of  his 
craft,  in  time  of  peace,  than  the  captain  of  the  'Podarcrus' 
appeared  to  be;  walking  the  starboard  side  as  fast  as  the  halt 
in  his  gait  would  let  him,  and  the  anxious  turn  of  his  eyes 
plainer  than  before,  while  he  looked  from  the  brig's  spread  of 
stun-sails  to  the  horizon,  through  the  glass,  which,  I  may  say, 
he  never  once  laid  down.  From  where  the  brig  spoke  the 
Indiaman,  to  St.  Helena,  would  be  about  two  or  three  days' 
sail  with  a  fair  wind,  at  the  ordinary  strength  of  the  south- 
east trade;  though,  at  this  rate,  it  might  cost  us  twice  the 
time.  I  noticed  the  men  on  the  forecastle  look  to  each  other 
now  and  then  knowingly,  at  some  fresh  sign  of  the  captain's 
impatience ;  and  the  second  lieutenant  told  me  in  a  low  voice, 
with  his  head  over  the  side  near  mine,  Captain  Wallis  had 
been  out  of  sorts  ever  since  they  lost  sight  of  the  island. 
'You  M  suppose,  sir,'  said  he,  laughing,  'that  old  Nap  was  his 
sweetheart,  by  the  way  he  watches  over  him;  and  now,  I 


A  SEA  STORY  257 

fancy,  he  's  afraid  St.  Helena  may  be  sunk  in  blue  water  while 
we  were  away!  In  fact,  Mr.  Westwood,'  added  he,  'it  looks 
devilish  like  as  if  it  had  come  up  from  Davy  Jones,  all 
standing ;  so  I  don't  see  why  it  should  n't  go  down  to  him 
again  some  day;  I  can  tell  you  it 's  tiresome  work  cruising  to 
windward  there,  though,  and  we  are  n't  idle  at  all !' 

"  'Did  you  ever  see  the  French  Emperor  yourself,  sir  ?' 
asked  I — for  I  must  say  the  thought  of  nearing  the  prison 
such  a  man  was  in  made  me  a  little  curious.  'Never,  sir, 
except  at  a  mile's  distance,'  said  the  second  lieutenant;  'in- 
deed, it's  hard  to  get  a  pass,  unless  you  know  the  governor. 
But  I  've  a  notion,'  continued  he,  'the  governor's  carefulness 
is  nothing  to  our  skipper's !  Indeed,  they  tell  a  queer  story  of 
how  Sir  Hudson  Lowe  was  gulled  for  months  together,  when 
he  was  governor  of  Capri  island,  in  the  Mediterranean.  As 
for  the  captain,  again,  you  'd  seek  a  long  time  ere  you  found  a 
better  seaman — he  's  as  wide  awake,  too,  as  Nelson  himself — 
while  the  curious  thing  is,  I  believe,  he  never  once  clapped 
eyes  on  Bonaparte  in  his  life!  But  good  cause  he  has  to 
hate  him,  you  know,  Mr.  Westwood !'  'Indeed,'  said  I,  taking 
a  moment's  interest  in  the  thing;  and  I  was  just  going  to  ask 
the  reason,  when  the  first  lieutenant  came  over  to  say,  Captain 
Wallis  would  be  glad  if  I  would  dine  with  him  in  the  cabin. 

"At  dinner-time,  accordingly,  I  put  on  a  coat,  for  the  first 
time,  less  like  those  the  cadets  in  the'Seringapatam'  wore,  and 
went  aft,  where  I  found  the  first  lieutenant  and  a  midshipman 
with  the  captain.  He  did  his  best  to  soften  my  case,  as  I  saw 
by  his  whole  manner  during  dinner;  after  which,  no  sooner 
had  the  reefer  had  his  one  glass  of  wine,  than  he  was  sent 
on  deck  to  look  out  to  windward.  'Well,  sir,'  said  Captain 
Wallis  thereupon,  turning  from  his  first  luff  to  me,  'I  'm  sorry 
for  this  disagreeable  business!  I  believe  you  deny  being  the 
person  at  all,  though?'  'Why,  sir,'  said  I,  'I  am  certainly  no 
more  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  "Orestes"  than  yourself,  Cap- 
tain Wallis!  'T  was  all  owing  to  a  mistake  of  that  India  mate, 
who  owed  me  a  grudge.'  'Oh,  oh,  I  see !'  replied  he,  beginning 
to  smile,  'the  whole  matter 's  as  plain  as  a  handspike,  Mr. 
Aldridgc !  But  I  could  n't  do  less,  on  the  information.'  '.How- 
ever, sir,'  put  in  the  first  lieutenant,  'there 's  no  doubt  the  real 
man  must  have  been  in  the  ship,  or  the  mistake  could  not 
have  happened,  sir!'  'Well — you  look  at  things  too  square, 
Aldridge,'  said  the  captain.  'All  you've  got  to  do,  I  hope, 
sir,  is  just  to  prove  you  're  not  Westwood ;  and  if  you  want 
still  to  go  out  to  the  East  Indies,  why,  I  dare  say  you  won't 
be  long  of  finding  some  outward-bound  sihip  or  other  off 


258  THE  GREEN  HAND 

James  Town.  Only,,  I  'd  advise  you,  sir,  to  have  your  case 
over  with  Sir  Pulteney,  before  Admiral  Plampin  comes  in — 
as  I  fear  he  would  send  you  to  England.'  'It  matters  little 
to  me,  sir/  I  answered;  'seeing  the  reason  I  had  for  going 
out  happens  to  be  done  with.'  Here  I  could  n't  help  the  blood 
rising  in  my  face;  while  Captain  Wallis's  steady  eye  turned 
off  me,  and  I  heard  him  say  in  a  lower  key  to  the  lieutenant, 
he  did  n't  think  it  was  a  matter  for  a  court-martial  at  all. 
'Pooh,  Aldridge!'  said  he,  'some  pretty  girl  amongst  the 
passengers  in  the  case,  I  wager!'  'Why,'  returned  Aldridge, 
carelessly,  'I  heard  Mr.  Moore  say  some  of  the  ladies  were 
pretty  enough,  especially  one — some  India  judge  or  other's 
young  daughter — I  believe  he  was  in  raptures  about,  sir.' 
This  sort  of  thing,  as  you  may  suppose,  was  like  touching 
one  on  the  raw  with  a  marline  spike ;  when  the  captain  asked 
me — partly  to  smooth  it  over,  maybe — 'By  the  bye,  sir, 
Mr.  Aldridge  tells  me  there  was  something  about  a  pirate 
schooner  or  slaver,  or  some  craft  of  the  kind,  that  frightened 
your  mates — that 's  all  stuff,  I  dare  say — but  what  I  want  to 
know  is,  in  what  quarter  you  lost  sight  of  her,  if  you  recollect  ?' 
'About  nor'-west  by  north  from  where  we  were  at  the  time,  sir.' 
said  I.  'A  fast-looking  craft  was  she  ?'  asked  he.  'A  thorough- 
built  smooth-going  clipper,  if  ever  there  was  one,'  I  said. 
At  this  the  captain  mused  for  a  little,  till  at  last  he  said  to  his 
lieutenant :  'They  dare  n't  risk  it ;  I  don't  think  there  's  the 
Frenchman  born,  man  enough  to  try  such  a  thing  by  water, 
Aldridge?'  'Help  him  out,  you  mean,  sir?'  said  the  luff; 
"why,  if  he  ever  got  as  far  as  the  water's  edge,  I  'd  believe  in 
witchcraft,  sir!'  'Give  a  man  time,  Mr.  Aldridge,'  answered 
the  captain,  'and  he'll  get  out  of  anything  where  soldiers 
are  concerned — every  year  he 's  boxed  up  sharpens  him  till 
his  very  mind  turns  like  a  knife,  man!  It  makes  one  mad 
on  every  point  besides,  I  tell  you,  sir — whereas  after  he 's 
free,  perhaps,  it's  just  on  that  only  his  brain  has  a  twist 
in  it!'  'No  doubt,  Captain  Wallis,'  said  Aldridge,  glancing 
over  to  me*  as  his  commander  got  up  and  began  walking 
about  the  cabin,  spite  of  his  halt.  'D'  ye  know,'  continued 
he,  'I  've  thought  at  times  what  I  should  like  best  would 
be  to  have  him  ahead  of  the  brig,  in  some  craft  or  other, 
and  we  hard  in  chase — I  'd  go  after  that  man  to  the  North 
Pole,  sir,  and  bring  him  back!  Without  once  going  aboard 
to  know  he  was  there,  I  'd  send  word  it  was  Jack  Wallis 
Lad  him  in  tow!'  'What  is  Bonaparte  like,  then,  after  all, 
sir?'  I  asked,  just  to  fill  tip  the  break.  'I  never  saw  him,  nor 
he  me,'  replied  Captain  Wallis,  stopping  in  his  walk;  'but 


A  SEA  STORY  259 

every  day  he  may  have  a  sight  of  the  brig  cruising  to 
windward;  and  as  for  the  island,  we  see  plenty  of  it,  I 
think,  Aldridge?'  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  said  Aldridge,  'that  we  do! 
For  my  part,  I  can't  get  the  ugly  stone  steeples  of  it  out 
of  my  head !'  'Well,'  continued  the  captain,  'at  times,  when 
we  're  beating  round  St.  Helena  of  a  night,  I  '11  be  hanged 
if  I  have  n't  thought  it  began  to  loom  as  if  the  French 
Emperor  stood  on  the  top  of  it,  like  a  shadow  looking  out 
to  sea  the  other  way — and  I  Ve  gone  below,  lest  he  'd  turn 
round  till  I  saw  his  face.  I  've  a  notion,  Mr.  Aldridge,  if 
I  once  saw  his  face,  I  'd  lose  what  I  feel  against  him,  just 
as  I  used  always  to  fancy,  the  first  five  years  in  the  Temple, 
if  he  were  only  to  see  me,  he  would  let  me  out!  But  they 
say  he 's  got  a  wonderful  way  of  coming  over  every  one, 
if  he  likes !'  After  this,  Captain  Wallis  sat  down  and  passed 
the  decanters,  the  first  lieutenant  observing,  he  supposed 
Bonaparte  was  a  great  man  in  his  way,  but  nothing  to 
Nelson.  'Don't  tack  them  together,  Aldridge !'  said  his  com- 
mander, quickly ;  'Nelson  was  a  man  all  over,  he  'd  got  the 
feelings  of  a  man  and  his  faults — but  I  call  him,  yonder,  a 
perfect  demon  let  loose  upon  the  world !  To  my  mind  all 
the  blood  those  republicans  shed,  with  their  murdered  king's 
at  bottom  of  it,  got  somehow  into  him,  till  he  thought  no  more 
of  human  beings,  or  aught  concerning  'em,  than  I  do  of 
to  many  cockroaches !  But  the  terrible  thing  was,  sir,  his  in- 
fernal schemes  and  cunning — why,  he  'd  twist  you  one  coun- 
try against  another, 'and  get  hold  of  both,  like  a  man  bend- 
ing stun-sail  halyards — there  were  men  grew  up  round  him. 
quick  as  mushrooms,  fit  to  carry  out  everything  he  wanted; 
so  one  could  n't  wonder  at  him  enough,  Mr.  Aldridge,  if  it 
was  only  natural !  I  can't  tell  you  anything  like  what  I 
felt,'  he  went  on,  'when  I  was  in  Sir  Sidney  Smith's  ship, 
cruising  down  Channel,  and  we  used  to  see  the  gunboats  and 
flat-bottoms  he  got  together  for  crossing  the  straits — or  one 
night  with  poor  Captain  Wright,  that  we  stood  in  near 
enough  to  get  a  shot  sent  at  us  off  the  heights — the  whole 
shore  about  Boulogne  was  one  twinkle  of  lights  and  camp- 
fires,  and  you  heard  the  sound  of  the  hammers  on  planks 
and  iron,  with  the  carts  and  gun-carriages  creaking — not 
to  speak  of  a  hum  from,  soldiers  enough,  you  'd  have  thought, 
to  eat  Old  England  up!  And  where  are  they  now?'  'I 
don't  know,  siir,  indeed/  said  the  first  lieutenant,  gravely, 
supposing  by  the  captain's  look,  no  doubt,  that  it  was  a 
question.  'What,  Captain  Wallis!'  exclaimed  I,  'were  you 
with  Captain  Wright,  then,  sir?'  Of  course,  like  every 


260  THE  GREEN  HAND 

one  in  the  service,  I  had  heard  Captain  Wright's  story 
often,  with  ever  so  many  versions;  there  was  a  mystery 
about  his  sad  fate  that  made  me  curious  to  hear  more  of 
what  gave  the  whole  navy,  I  may  say,  a  hatred  to  Bona- 
parte not  at  all  the  same  you  regard  a  fair  enemy  with. 
.."'With  him,  say  you,  sir?'  repeated  the  captain  of  the 
'Podargus/  'ay,  was  I!  I  was  his  first  lieutenant,  and  good 
cause  I  had  to  feel  for  the  end  he  came  to,  as  I  '11  let 
you  hear.  One  night  Captain  Wright  went  ashore,  as  he  'd 
often  done,  into  the  town  of  Beville,  dressed  like  a  smug- 
gler; for  the  fact  was-  the  French  winked  at  smuggling, 
only  I  must  say  we  used  to  land  men  instead  of  goods.  I 
did  n't  like  the  thing  that  night,  and  advised  him  not  to 
go,  as  they'd  begun  to  suspect  something  of  late!  How- 
ever, the  captain  by  that  time  was  foolhardy,  owing  to 
having  run  so  many  risks,  and  he  was  bent  on  going  in 
before  we  left  the  coast;  though,  after  all,  I  believe  it  was 
only  to  get  a  letter  than  any  fisherman  could  have  brought 
off.  The  boat  was  lying  off  and  on  behind  a  rocky  point,  and 
we  waited  and  waited,  hearing  nothing  but  the  sound  of 
the  tide  making  about  the  big  weedy  stones,  in  the  shadow 
from  the  lights  of  the  town;  when  at  last  the  French  land- 
lord of  the  little  tavern  he  put  up  at  came  down  upon  the 
shingle  and  whistled  to  us.  He  gave  me  a  message  from 
Captain  Wright,  with  the  private  word  we  had  between 
us,  saying  he  wanted  me  to  come  up  to  the  town  on  a 
particular  business.  Accordingly  I  told  the  men  to  shove 
out  again,  and  away  I  went  with  the  fellow. 

"  *No  sooner  did  I  open  the  door  of  the  room,  however, 
than  three  or  four  gendarmes  had  hold  of  me,  and  I  was  a 
prisoner:  as  for  Captain  Wright,  I  never  saw  him  more. 
The  morning  broke  as  they  brought  me  up  on  horseback 
in  the  middle  of  them,  along  the  road  to  Paris,  from  whence 
I  could  make  out  the  cutter  heeling  to  the  breeze  a  mile 
or  two  off  the  land,  with  two  or  three  gunboats  hard  in  chase. 

"  'Well,  sir,  at  Paris  they  clapped  me  into  a  long  gloomy- 
like  piece  of  masonwork  called  the  Temple,  close  alongside 
of  the  river,  where  plenty  of  our  countrymen  were;  Captain 
Wright  and  Sir  Sidney  Smith  himself  among  the  rest,  as  I 
found  out  afterwards.  The  treatment  was  n't  sio  bad  at 
first,  but  when  you  climbed  up  to  the  windows,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  top  of  a  wall  and  roofs  of 
houses  all  round,  save  where  you'd  a  glimpse  of  the  dirty 
river  and  some  pig-trough  of  a  boat.  One  day  I  got  a 
letter  from  Captain  Wright — how  they  let  me  have  it  I 


A  SEA  STORY  261 

don't  well  know — saying  he  was  allowed  a  good  deal  of 
comfort  in  the  meantime,  but  he  suspected  some  devilish 
scheme  in  it,  to  make  him  betray  the  British  Government, 
or  something  of  the  kind ;  that  he  'd  heard  one  of  the 
French  royalist  generals  had  choked  himself  in  his  prison, 
but  never  to  believe  he  'd  do  the  same  thing,  though  every 
night  he  woke  up,  thinking  he  heard  the  key  turn  in 
the  door.  The  next  thing  I  heard  of  was  that  Captain 
Wright  had  made  away  with  himself,  sir !' 

"Here  Captain  Wallis  got  up  again,  walking  across  the 
cabin,  seemingly  much  moved.  'Well,  after  that  I  slept 
with  the  dinner-knife  in  my  breast,  till  the  jailer  took  it 
away;  for  I  thought  at  the  time  that  poor  Wright  had 
been  murdered,  though  I  found  cause  to  change  my  mind 
when  I  knew  what  loneliness  does  with  a  man,  not  to  speak 
of  the  notion  being  put  before  him  to  take  his  own  life. 
For  awhile,  too,  Captain  Shaw  was  in  the  same  cell;  by 
which  time  we  had  such  bad  food,,  and  so  little  of  it,  that 
one  day  when  a  pigeon  lighted  en  the  window,  which 
used  to  come  there  for  a  crumb  or  two  every  afternoon, 
right  along  with  the  gold  gleam  of  the  sun  as  it  shot  over 
the  dark  houses  to  that  window,  I  jumped  up  and  caught  it. 
Shaw  and  I  actually  tore  it  in  bits,  and  ate  it  raw  on  the  spot ; 
though  'twere  long  ere  I  could  get  rid  of  the  notion  of 
the  poor  bird  fluttering  and  cooing  against  the  bars,  and 
looking  at  me  with  its  round  little  soft  eye  as  it  pecked 
off  the  slab.  But  what  was  that  to  the  thought  of  my  old 
father  that  had  hurt  himself  to  keep  me  in  the  navy,  and 
me  able  now  to  make  his  last  days  comfortable?  or  the 
innocent  young  girl  I  had  married  the  moment  I  got  my 
commission  of  first  lieutenant,  expecting  to  be  flush  of  prize- 
money  ?  It  even  came  into  my  head  often,  when  I  sat  by 
myself  in  the  cell  they  afterwards  put  me  into,  alone,  how 
that  little  blue  pigeon  might  have  carried  a  letter  to  Eng- 
land for  me;  at  any  rate  it  was  the  only  thing  like  a 
chance,  or  a  friend,  I  ever  saw  the  whole  time  I  was  there; 
and  foolish  as  the  notion  may  look,  why  the  window  was 
too  high  in  a  smooth  wall  for  me  once  to  reach  it. 

"  'I  heard  all  Paris  humming  round  the  thick  of  the  stone 
every  day,  and  sometimes  the  sound  of  thousands  of  soldiers 
tramping  past  below,  over  the  next  bridge,  with  music  and 
such  like — no  doubt  when  the  First  Consul,  as  they  called 
him,  went  off  to  some  campaign  or  other:  then  I'd  dream 
J  felt  the  deck  under  me  in  a  fresh  breeze  at  night,  till  the 
soul  sickened  in  me  to  wake  up  and  find  the  stones  as 


262  THE  GREEN  HAND 

still  as  before,  and  now  and  then  hear  the  sentries   chal- 
lenging on  their  rounds. 

"  'Well,  one  day,  a  fellow  in  a  cloak,  with  a  slouch  hat 
over  his  forehead,  was  let  in  to  try,  as  I  thought,  if  there 
was  anything  to  be  got  out  of  me,  as  they  tried  two  or 
three  times  at  first;  some  spy  he  was,  belonging  to  that  police 
devil  Fouche.  What  did  he  offer  me,  d7  ye  think,  after 
beating  about  the  bush  for  half  an  hour,  but  the  command 
of  a  French  seventy-four  under  the  Emperor,  as  he  was 
by  that  time,  and,  if  I  would  take  it,  I  was  free !  On  this 
I  pretended  to  be  thinking  of  it,  when  the  police  fellow 
sidled  near  me,  to  show  a  commission  signed  with  the 
Emperor's  name  at  the  foot. 

"  'In  place  of  taking  hold  of  it,  however,  I  jumped  up 
and  seized  the  villain's  nose  and  chin  before  he  saw  my 
purpose,  stuffed  the  parchment  into  his  mouth  by  way  of  a 
gag,  and  made  him  dance  round  the  cell,  with  his  cloak  over 
his  head  and  his  sword  dangling  alongside  of  him,  to  keep 
his  stern  clear  of  my  foot ;  till  the  turnkey  heard  the  noise, 
and  he  made  bolt  out  as  soon  as  the  door  was  opened.  You  'd 
wonder  how  long  that  small  matter  served  me  to  laugh  over, 
for  my  spirit  was  n't  broken  yet,  you  see ;  but  even  then, 
in  the  very  midst  of  it,  I  would  all  of  a  sudden  turn  sick 
at  heart,  and  sit  wondering  when  the  exchange  of  prisoners 
would  be  made  that  1  looked  for.  The  worst  of  it  was, 
at  times  a  horrid  notion  would  come  into  my  head  of  the 
French  seventy-four  being  at  sea  at  the  moment,  and  me 
almost  wishing  they  'd  give  me  the  offer  over  again — I 
fancied  I  felt  the  very  creak  of  her  straining  in  the  trough 
of  a  sea,  and  saw  the  canvas  of  her  topsails  over  me,  stand- 
ing on  her  poop  with  a  glass  in  my  hand,  till  she  rose  on 
a  crest,  and  there  were  the  "Agamemnon's"  lighted  ports 
bearing  down  to  leeward  upon  us,  till  I  heard  Nelson's 
terrible  v.oice  sing  out,  "Give  it  to  'em,  my  lads !"  when 
the  flash  of  her  broadside  showed  me  his  white  face  under 
the  cocked  hat,  and  it  came  whizzing  over  like  a  thirty-two 
pound  shot  right  into  my  breast,  as  I  sunk  to  the  bottom, 
and  found  myself  awake  in  the  prison. 

"  'I  don't  know  how  long  it  was  after,  but  they  moved  me 
to  another  berth,  where  a  man  had  shot  himself  through  the 
head,  for  we  actually  met  his  body  being  carried  along  the 
passage ;  and  more  than  that,  sir,  they  had  n't  taken  the 
trouble  to  wash  his  brains  off  the  wall  they  were  scattered 
on.  There  I  sat  one  day  after  another,  watching  the  spot 
marked  by  them  turn  dry,  guessing  at  everything  that  had 


A  SEA  STORY  263 

gone  through  them  as  long  as  he  was  alive  in  the  place,  till 
my  own  got  perfectly  stupid;  I  was  as  helpless  as  a  child, 
and  used  to  cry  at  other  times  when  the  jailer  didn't  bring 
me  my  food  in  time.  I  fancied  they'd  forget  all  about  me 
in  England;  and  as  for  time,  I  never  counted  it,  except  by 
the  notion  I  had  been  two  or  three  years  in. 

"  'At  last  the  turnkey  got  so  used  to  me,  thinking  me  no 
doubt  such  a  harmless  sort  of  a  poor  man,  that  he  would 
sit  by  and  talk  to  me,  giving  accounts  of  the  Emperor's 
battles  and  victories,  and  such  matters.  I  must  say  I  began 
to  feel  as  if  he  was  some  sort  of  a  god  upon  earth  there 
was  no  use  to  strive  against,  just  as  the  turnkey  seemed  to 
do,  more  especially  when  I  heard  of  Nelson's  death;  so  when 
he  told  me  one  time  it  would  n't  do  for  Fouche  or  the 
Emperor  to  let  me  out  yet,  I  said  nothing  more.  "Will  the 
Emperor  not  let  me  out  now?"  asked  I,  a  long  time  after. 
"Diable!"  said  the  man,  "do  you  think  His  Majesty  has  time 
to  think  of  such  a  poor  fellow  as  you,  among  such  great 
matters?  No,  no,  pauvr'  homme!"  continued  he;  "you're 
comfortable  here,  and  would  n't  know  what  to  do  if  you  were 
out!  No  fear  of  your  doing  as  your  Capitaine  Ourite  did, 
since  you  've  lived  here  so  long,  monsieur."  "How  long  is  it 
now,  good  Pierre?"  asked  I,  with  a  sigh,  as  he  was  going 
out  at  the  door;  and  the  turnkey  counted  on  his  fingers. 
"Ulm — Austerlitz — Jena,"  said  he  slowly;  "oui,  oui — I 
scarcely  thought  it  so  much — it  wants  only  six  or  seven, 
months  of  ten  years!"  and  he  shut  to  the  door.  I  sprang 
up  off  the  bed  I  was  sitting  on,  wild  at  the  thought — I  may 
say,  for  a  day  or  two  I  was  mad — ten  years !  ten  years ! — 
and  all  this  time  where  was  my  poor  innocent  Mary,  and 
the  child  she  expected  to  bear  when  I  left  Exeter — where 
was  my  old  father  ?  But  I  could  n't  bear  to  dwell  on  it. 
Yes,  Aldridge,  by  the  God  above,  they  had  kept  me  actually 
ten  years  there,  in  that  cursed  Temple,  while  he  was  going 
on  all  the  time  with  his  victories,  and  his  shows,  and  his 
high-flown  bulletins!  Yet  he  wasn't  too  high,  it  seems,  to 
stoop  to  give  out,  through  his  tools,  how  Wright  and  I  had 
both  killed  ourselves  for  fear  of  bringing  in  the  British 
government — not  to  offer  me  a  seventy-four  in  a  dungeon — 
me,  a  man  used  to  wind  and  water,  that  loved  a  breeze  at 
sea  like  life.  'T  was  the  very  devil's  temptation,  sir;  but 
I'll  tell  you  what,  both  Captain  Wright  and  myself  had 
been  with  Sir  Sydney  Smith  at  Acre,  when  he  was  baffled 
for  the  first  time  in  his  days — that  was  the  thing,  I  believe 
from  my  soul,  that  he  hated  us  for.  /  had  a  right  to  be 


264  THE  GREEN  HAND 

exchanged  ten  times  over,  though  he  might  have  called 
Wright  a  spy;  but  what  was  my  poor  wife  and  her  new- 
born baby,  or  my  old  father's  gray  hairs,  to  him,  and  his 
great  ambition  to  make  everything  his  own — and  when  the 
very  thought  of  me  in  my  hole  at  the  Temple  would  strike 
him  in  the  midst  of  his  victories,  where  he  had  n't  time, 
forsooth,  to  trouble  himself  about  a  poor  man  like  me!  The 
fact  was,  I  could  tell  how  he  offered  a  British  seaman,  that 
had  had  a  finger  in  nettling  him,  the  command  of  one  of  his 
seventy-fours,  which  he  had  nobody  fit  to  manage — and  that 
in  a  prison  where  I  'd  be  glad  even  of  fresh  air. 

" l  'T  was  then,  in  fact,  the  purpose  rose  firmer  and  firmer 
in  me,  out  of  the  fury  that  was  like  to  drive  me  mad,  how 
1  'd  get  out  of  his  clutches,  and  spend  my  life  against  the 
very  pitch  of  his  power  I  knew  so  well  about.  Till  that 
time  I  xised  to  look  through  the  bars  of  the  window  at  the 
Seine,  without  ever  fancying  escape,  low  down  as  it  was, 
compared  with  my  last  cell.  There  was  a  mark  in  the  stone 
floor  with  my  walking  back  and  forward  since  they  put  me 
in;  and  by  this  time  I  had  the  cunning  of  a  beast,  let 
alone  its  strength,  in  regard  of  anything  I  took  into  my 
head;  often  I  used  to  think  I  saw  the  end  of  my  finger, 
or  the  corner  of  a  stone,  more  like  the  way  a  fly  sees  them, 
than  a  man.  The  turnkey,  Pierre,  would  never  let  me  have 
a  knife  to  eat  my  food  with,  lest  I  should  do  as  he  said  all 
we  English  were  apt  to  do — kill  myself — which,  by  the  way, 
is  a  lie;  and  I  think  that  fiend  of  an  Emperor  yonder  must 
have  taught  them  to  blame  us  with  their  own  crime.  How- 
ever, latterly  he  let  me  have  a  fork  for  half  an  hour  at  din- 
ner; and  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  every  day,  except  those 
when  he  stayed  to  talk  to  me  as  I  ate  it,  did  I  climb  up 
and  work  with  that  fork  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  one  of 
the  window  bars,  taking  care  not  to  break  the  fork,  and 
jumping  down  always  in  time  to  finish  the  meal.  It  took 
me  four  whole  months,  sir,  to  loosen  them!  Such  deadly 
fear  as  I  was  in,  too,  lest  he  'd  find  it  out,  or  lest  they 
moved  me  to  another  cell — you  'd  have  thought  I  was  fond 
of  the  walls  round  the  place,  where  hundreds  of  men  be- 
fore me  Tiad  scrawled  their  last  words;  and  the  one  that 
shot  himself  had  written,  "Liberie — aneanlissement !"  Lib- 
erty— annihilation!  just  over  where  the  spatter  of  his  brains 
had  stuck  when  he  laid  his  head  to  the  spot!  If  Pierre 
had  noticed  what  I  'd  been  about,  my  mind  was  made  up 
to  kill  him,  and  then  make  the  trial  before  they  missed 


A  SEA  STORY  265 

him;  but  that  I  had  a  horror  of,  after  all,  seeing  the  man 
had  taken  a  sort  of  liking  to  me,  and  I  knew  he  had  a  wife. 

" ' Well,  at  last,  one  day,  I  had  the  thing  finished ;  when 
midnight  came  I  trembled  like  a  leaf,  till  I  began  to  fear 
I  could  n't  carry  it  through.  I  tore  my  shirt  and  the  blanket 
in  strips,  to  twist  into  a  line,  got  out  the  bar  by  main  force, 
squeezed  through,  and  let  myself  down.  The  line  was  just 
long  enough  to  let  me  swing  against  the  cold  wall,  over  a 
sentry's  head  going  round  the  parapet  below;  as  soon  as 
he  was  past,  I  dropped  on  the  edge  of  the  wall,  and 
fell  along  it,  my  fingers  scraping  the  smooth  stone  to 
no  purpose,  till  I  was  sliding  off  into  the  dark,  with  the  river 
I  did  n't  know  how  far  below  me,  thoug*h  1  heard  it  lapping 
against  some  boats  at  the  other  side. 

"  'For  a  few  moments  I  was  quite  senseless  from  the  fall 
into  the  water.  The  splash  roused  the  sentinels,  and  three 
or  four  bullets  whizzed  into  it  about  me,  as  I  struck  out  for 
the  shore.  Still  the  night  was  thick  enough  to  help  me 
clear  off  among  the  dark  lanes  in  the  city;  and  the  upshot 
of  it  was  that  I  found  out  some  royalists,  who  supplied  me 
with  a  pedler's  dress;  till,  in  the  end,  after  I  can't  tell  you 
Low  many  ticklish  chances,  where  my  luck  hung  upon  a 
hair,  I  reached  the  coast,  and  was  taken  off  to  a  British 
frigate.  At  home,  sir — at  home,  I  found  I  'd  been  given  up 
long  ago  for  a  dead  man  in  Bonaparte's  prisons,  and — and 
— the  old  man  had  been  buried  seven  years,  Aldridge — but 
not  so  long  as  my — wife.  The  news  of  my  taking  my  own  life 
in  the  Temple  saved  her  the  rest — 't  was  too  much  for  her 
at  the  time.  Aldridge — both  she  and  her  little  one  had 
lain  in  the  mould  nine  years,  when  I  stood  looking  at  the 
grass  under  Exeter  Cathedral.  I  was  a  young  man  almost, 
still;  but  my  hair  was  as  grizzled  when  I  got  out  of  the 
Temple  in  1813,  as  you  see  it  now,  and  I  '11  never  walk 
the  deck  fairly  again.  Aldridge/  added  the  captain  of  the 
'Podargus,'  turning  round  and  standing  still,  with  a  low 
sort  of  a  deep  whisper,  '  't  is  a  strange  thing,  the  Almighty's 
way  of  working — but  I  never  thought — in  the  Temple  yon- 
der, longing  for  a  heave  of  the  water  under  me — :I  little 
thought  John  Wallis  would  ever  come  to  keep  guard  over  his 
Majesty,  the  Emperor  Napoleon !' 

"When  Captain  Wallis  stopped,  the  long  send  of  the  sea 
lifting  the  brig  below  us,  with  a  wild,  yearning  kind  of 
ripple  from  her  bows  back  to  her  counter,  and  weltering  away 
astern — one  felt  it,  I  may  say,  somewhat  like  an  answer  to 
him,  for  the  breeze  had  begun  to  freshen:  it  had  got  all  of 


266  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  sudden  nearly  quite  dark,  too,  as  is  the  case  inside  the 
tropics,  without  the  moon.  'Let 's  go  on  deck,  gentlemen, ' 
said  the  captain,  coming  to  himself ;  'now  clap  on  those  other 
topmost  stun-sails,  Mr.  Aldridge,  and  make  her  walk,  sir! — 
No  saying,'  I  heard  him  mutter,  as  he  let  us  go  up  before 
him — 'no  saying  what  the  want  of  the  "Podargus"  might 
do,  off  the  island,  these  dark  nights — with  water  alongside, 
one  can't  be  sure.  I  warrant  me  if  that  man's  dreams  came 
true,  as  mine  did,  he  would  be  at  the  head  of  his  thousands 
again,  ruining  the  whole  world,  with  men  rotting  out  of 
sight  in  dungeons  while  the  wind  blows !  Ay,  dreams,  young 
gentlemen !'  said  he  to  me  as  we  stood  on  deck ;  'I  '11  never 
get  rid  of  that  prison,  in  my  head,  nor  the  way  that  dead 
man's  brain  seemed  to  come  into  mine,  off  the  wall !  But  for 
my  part,  off  St.  Helena,  't  is  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  dreams 
that  enter  into  my  head.  If  you  '11  believe  it,  sir,  I  've  heard 
them,  as  it  were,  creeping  and  tingling  round  the  black 
heights  of  the  island  at  dead  of  night,  like  men  in  millions 
ready  to  break  out  in  war-music,  as  I  used  to  hear  them 
go  over  the  bridge  near  the  Temple — or  in  shrieks  and 
groans;  we  all  the  time  forging  slowly  ahead,  and  the  surf 
breaking  in  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks.  I  know  then  ivho  's 
asleep  at  the  time  up  in  Longwood !' 

"The  brig-of-war  was  taking  long  sweeps  and  plunges  be- 
fore the  wind;  the  Southern  Cross  right  away  on  her  lar- 
board quarter,  and  the  very  same  stars  spread  all  out  nloft, 
that  I  watched  a  couple  of  nights  before,  close  by  Violet 
Hyde.  The  whole  of  what  I  'd  just  heard  was  nothing  to 
me  in  a  single  minute,  matched  with  the  notion  of  never 
seeing  her  more.  Everything  I  'd  thought  of  since  we  left 
England  was  gone,  even  one's  heart  for  the  service;  and 
what  to  do  now,  I  did  n't  know.  I  scarce  noticed  it  commence 
to  rain  till  a  bit  of  a  squall  had  com©  on,  and  they  were 
hauling  down  stun-sails:  the  dark  swells  only  to  be  seen 
rising  with  the  foam  on  them,  and  a  heavier  cover  of  dull 
cloud  risen  off  the  brig's  beam,  as  well  as  ahead;  so  that 
you  merely  saw  her  canvas  lift  before  you  against  the  thick 
of  the  sky,  and  dive  into  it  again.  'T  was  just  cleared  pretty 
bright  off  the  stars  astern  of  us,  however,  wind  rather  lighter 
than  before  the  squall,  when  the  captain  thought  he  made 
out  a  sail  near  about  the  starboard  beam,  where  the  clouds 
came  on  the  water-line;  a  minute  or  two  after  she  was 
plain  enough  in  the  clear,  though  looming  nearly  end-on,  so 
that  one  could  n't  well  know  her  rig.  Thinking  at  first  sight 
it  might  be  the  schooner,  Captain  Wallis  was  for  bracing  up, 


A  SEA  STORY  26; 

to  stand  in  chase  and  overhaul  her;  but  shortly  after  she 
seemed  either  to  yaw  a  little,  or  fall  off  again  before  the 
wind  like  ourselves,  at  any  rate  showing  three  sticks  on  the 
horizon,  with  square  canvas  spread,  and  evidently  a  small 
ship. 

"  'Some  homeward-bound  craft  meaning  to  touch  at  the 
island,'  said  Captain  Wallis,  telling  the  first  lieutenant  to 
keep  all  fast;  by  which  time  she  was  lost  in  the  dusk  again, 
and  I  was  n't  long  of  going  below.  A  fancy  had  got  hold  of 
me  for  the  moment,  I  can't  deny,  of  its  being  the  'Seringa- 
patam'  after  us  on  Westwood's  owning  himself;  whereupon  1 
persuaded  myself  Captain  Wallis  might  perhaps  take  the  risk 
on  him  of  letting  us  both  go.  For  my  part,  I  felt  by 
this  time  as  if  I  'd  rather  be  in  the  same  ship  with  her, 
hopeless  though  it  was,  than  steer  this  way  for  the  other 
side  of  the  Line;  and  I  went  down  with  a  chill  at  my  heart 
like  the  air  about  an  iceberg. 

"Not  being  asleep,  however,  a  sudden  stir  on  deck,  an 
hour  or  two  after  that,  brought  me  out  of  my  cot,  to  look 
through  the  scuttle  in  the  side.  The  brig  had  hauled  her 
wind  from  aft  on  to  her  starboard  quarter,  making  less  way 
than  before  it,  of  course ;  I  heard  the  captain's  voice  near  the 
after-hatchway,  too;  so  accordingly  I  slipped  on  my  clothes, 
and  went  quietly  up.  The  'Podargus'  was  running  through 
the  long  broad  swells  usual  thereabouts,  with  her  head 
somewhere  toward  north-east;  the  officers  all  up,  the  whole 
of  the  crew  in  both  watches  clustered  beyond  the  brig's 
fore-course,  and  the  captain  evidently  roused,  as  well  as  im- 
patient ;  though  I  could  n't  at  first  make  out  the  reason  of 
her  being  off  her  course.  As  soon  as  she  fell  off  a  little, 
however,  to  my  great  horror  I  could  see  a  light  far  ahead  of 
us,  right  in  the  gloom  of  the  clouds,  which  for  a  moment 
you  'd  have  supposed  was  the  moon  rising  red  and  bloody,  till 
the  heave  of  the  sea  betwixt  us  and  it  showed  how  both  of  us 
were  dipping:  and  now  and  then  it  gave  a  flaring  glimmer 
fair  out  irom  the  breast  of  the  fog  bank,  while  the  breeze  was 
sending  a  brown  puff  of  smoke  from  it  now  and  then  to  lee- 
ward against  the  clouds;  through  which  you  made  a  spar  or 
two  licking  up  the  flame,  and  a  rag  of  canvas  fluttering  across 
on  the  yard. 

"  'T  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  ship  on  fire — no 
doubt  the  vessel  seen  abeam  of  us  that  evening — a  sight  at 
which  Captain  Wallis  seemingly  forgot  his  hurry  to  make 
St.  Helena,  in  the  eagerness  shown  by  all  aboard  to  save 
the  poor  fellows.  Suddenly  there  was  another  wild  gleam 


268  THE  GREEN  HAND 

from  the  burning  craft,  and  we  thought  it  was  over  alto- 
gether, when  up  shot  a  wreath  of  fire  and  smoke  again,  then 
a  fierce  flash  with  a  blue  burst  of  flame,  full  of  sparks  and 
all  sorts  of  black  spots  and  broken  things,  as  if  she  had 
blown  up  while  she  heaved  the  last  time  on  the  swell.  Every- 
thing was  pitch  dark  next  minute  in  her  place,  as  if  a  big 
blot  of  ink  had  come  instead;  the  brig-of-war  herself  roll- 
ing with  a  flap  of  her  headsails  up  against  the  long  heavy 
bank  of  cloud  that  blocked  the  horizon.  'Keep  her  away, 
sirrah!'  shouted  Captain  Wallis,  and  the  'Podargus'  surged 
ahead  as  before,  all  of  us  standing  too  breathless  to  speak, 
but  counting  the  heads  of  the  waves  as  they  flickered  past 
her  weather-beam.  'God's  sakel'  exclaimed  the  captain,  at 
last,  'this  is  terrible,  Aldridge.  If  I  had  only  overhauled 
her,  as  I  meant  at  first,  we  might  have  helped  them  in 
time;  for  no  doubt  the  fire  must  have  been  commenced  when 
we  noticed  her  yawing  yonder  a  couple  of  hours  ago,  sir.' 
'I  think  not,  sir,'  said  his  lieutenant;  lwe  were  against  the 
clear ;  and  if  they  'd  been  in  danger  then,  she  'd  have  fired  a 
distress-gun.  There  could  n't  have  been  much  powder  aboard, 
sir — more  likely  rum,  I  think!' 

"  'For  heaven's  sake !'  continued  the  captain,  'let 's  look 
about — she  must  surely  have  had  boats  out,  or  something,  Mr. 
Aldridge?  The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  fire  a  few  times 
as  we  bear  down — see  that  bow-gun  cleared  away,  Mr.  Moore, 
and  do  it!' 

"We  might  have  been  about  a  mile,  as  was  guessed,  from 
where  she  was  last  seen,  when  the  brig  fired  a  gun  to  wind- 
ward, still  standing  on  under  everything.  At  the  second 
flash  that  lighted  up  the  belly  of  the  clouds,  with  the  black 
glitter  of  the  swells  below  them,  I  fancied  I  caught  a 
moment's  glimpse  of  something  two  or  three  miles  away.  It 
was  too  short  to  say,  however;  and  soon  after  the  twinkle 
of  a  light,  seemingly  hoisted  on  a  spar,  was  seen  little  more 
than  half  a  mile  upon  the  brig's  lee-bow,  dipping  and  going 
cut  of  sight  at  times,  but  plain  enough  when  it  rose.  Down 
went  the  'Podargus'  for  the  spot,  sending  the  foam  off  her 
cut-water;  and  it  was  no  long  time  before  a  wild  hail  from 
several  voices  could  be  made  out  almost  close  aboard.  Ten 
minutes  after  she  was  brought  to  the  wind,  heaving  a  rope 
to  the  men  on  a  loose  raft  of  casks  and  spars,  as  it  pitched 
alongside  of  her,  with  the  sail  hauled  down  on  a  spar  they 
had  stuck  up,  and  a  lantern  at  the  head  of  it;  after  which  the 
raft  was  cast  off,  and  the  poor  fellows  were  safe  on  board. 

"Two  of  them  seemed  to  be  half  drowned,  the  one  wrapped 


A  SEA  STORY  269 

up  in  a  wot  pilot-coat,  his  face  looking  white  ana  frightened 
enough  by  the  glimmer  of  the  lanterns:  the  other  darker 
a  good  deal,  so  far  as  I  could  make  him  out  for  the  crowd 
about  him,  and  he  didn't  seem  able  to  speak ;  accordingly  both 
of  them  were  taken  at  once  below  to  the  surgeon.  The  rest 
were  four  half -naked  blacks,  and  a  little  chap  with  earrings 
and  a  seaman's  dress,  who  was  the  spokesman  on  the  quar- 
ter-deck to  the  captain's  questions — plainly  American  by  his 
snuffling  sort  of  4rawl. 

"  'Are  there  no  more  of  you  afloat  ?'  was  the  first  thing 
asked,  to  which  the  Yankee  sailor  shook  his  head.  She  was 
an  American  bark,  he  said,  from  a  voyage  of  discovery 
round  the  two  Capes;  he  was  mate  himself,  and  the  skip- 
per, being  addicted  to  his  cups,  had  set  a  cask  of  rum 
on  fire ;  so  finding  they  could  n't  get  it  under,  besides  being 
wearied  at  the  pumps,  on  account  of  an  old  leak,  the  men 
broke  into  the  spirit-room,  and  got  dead  drunk.  He  and  the 
blacks  had  patched  up  a  raft  in  a  hurry  for  bare  life,  barely 
saving  the  passenger  and  his  servant  who  had  jumped  over- 
board; the  passenger  was  a  learned  sort  of  a  man,  and  his 
servant  was  a  Mexican.  Most  of  this  I  found  next  day,  from 
the  gun-room  officers;  however,  I  heard  the  mate  of  the 
burned  bark  inquire  of  the  captain  whereabouts  they  were,  as 
the  skipper  was  the  only  man  who  could  use  a  chronometer  or 
quadrant,  and  the  last  gale  had  driven  them  out  of  their 
reckonings  a  long  way.  'Somehow  south  of  the  Line,  I  guess?' 
said  he;  but,  on  being  told,  the  fellow  gave  a  bewildered 
glance  round  him,  seemingly,  and  a  cunning  kind  of  squint 
after  it,  as  I  fancied.  'Well,'  said  he,  'I  guess  we  're  con- 
siderable unlucky;  but  I  consider  to  turn  in,  if  agreeable!' 
The  man  had  a  way,  in  fact,  half  free-and-easy,  half  awk- 
ward, that  struck  me;  especially  when  he  said,  as  he  went 
below,  he  supposed  'this  was  a  war-brig,'  and  hoped  there 
'wasn't  war  between  the  States  and  the  old  country T  'No, 
my  man/  said  the  captain,  'you  may  set  your  mind  at  ease 
on  that  point ;  but  I  'm  afraid,  nevertheless,  we  '11  have  to 
land  you  at  St.  Helena  !' 

"  'What,  mister  ?'  said  the  American,  starting,  'that 's  where 
you've  got  Boneyparty  locked  up?  Well,  now,  if  you  give 
me  a  good  berth  for  a  few,  mister,  I  guess  I  '11  rayther  ship 
aboard  you,  till  I  get  a  better !  What 's  your  wage  just  now, 
if  I  may  ask,  captain  ?'  'Well,  well,'  said  the  captain,  laugh- 
ing, 'we  '11  see  to-morrow,  my  man !' — and  the  American  went 
below.  'Set  stun-sails  again,  Mr.  Aldridge,'  continued  Cap- 
tain Wallis,  'and  square  yards.  Why,  rather  than  have  such 


270  THE  GREEN  HAND 

a  fellow  in  the  ship's  company,  Aldridge,  I  'd  land  him  with- 
out Sir  Hudson's  leave!' 

"For  my  own  part,  next  day,  I  should  have  given  more 
notice  to  our  new  shipmates,  while  the  brig  steered  fair  be- 
fore the  wind — the  blacks  and  the  mate  leaning  about  her 
forecastle,  and  the  other  two  being  expected  by  the  surgeon 
to  come  pretty  well  round  before  night,  though  the  captain 
had  gone  to  see  them  below — but  a  thing  turned  up  all  at 
once  that  threw  me  once  more  full  into  the.thought  of  Violet 
Hyde,  till  I  was  perfectly  beside  myself  with  the  helpless 
case  I  was  in.  The  note  Tom  Westwood  had  shown  me 
was  still  in  the  pocket  of  my  griffin's  coat,  though  I  had  n't 
observed  it  till  now;  and  what  did  I  feel  at  finding  out,  that, 
instead  of  one  from  her  to  Westwood,  it  was  a  few  words 
from  my  own  sister,  little  Jane,  saying  in  a  pretty,  bashful 
sort  of  a  way,  that  her  brother  Ned  must  come  home  be- 
fore she  could  engage  to  anything!  You  may  fancy  how  I 
cursed  myself  for  being  so  blind ;  but  a  fellow  never  thinks 
his  own  sister  charming  at  all — and  what  else  could  I 
have  done,  at  any  rate?  All  I  hoped  for,  was  to  get  aboard 
some  Indiaman  at  St.  Helena,  and  there  was  nothing  else 
1  wearied  to  see  the  island  again  for.  I  may  say  I  walked 
the  brig's  lee  quarter-deck  till  daybreak;  but  anyhow  the 
lookout  from  the  foreyard  had  scarce  sung  out  'St.  Helena 
on  the  weather-bow !'  when  I  was  up,  making  out  the  round 
blue  cloud  in  the  midst  of  the  horizon,  with  a  white  streak 
across  it,  like  a  bird  afloat  in  the  hazy  blue,  with  the  clear 
gleam  from  eastward  off  our  starboard  quarter  running  round 
to  it. 


A  SEA  STORY  271 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"As  soon  as  you  near  St.  Helena  by  a  few  miles,  the 
trade  wind  falls  light,  and  making  the  rock,  as  you  do  from 
I  he  South  Atlantic,  a  good  deal  to  leeward  of  the  harbor, 
7t  would  be  pretty  slow  work  beating  round  to  north-east,  but 
for  the  breeze  always  coming  off  the  height,  with  the  help  of 
which  one  can  coast  easy  enough  along.  Captain  Wallis 
said  no  more  than  to  bid  the  first  lieutenant  make  the 
brig's  number  at  her  masthead,  while  she  still  bore  in  direct 
upon  the  breast  of  the  land,  as  much  out  of  soundings  as 
the  day  before;  the  smooth,  heavy  swell  seeming  to  float 
the  island  up  in  one  huge  lump  ahead  of  us,  till  you  saw 
it  rolling  into  the  very  foot,  with  a  line  of  surf,  as  if  it  all 
rose  sheer  out  of  the  bottom  of  the  sea;  as  grim  and  hard 
as  a  block  of  iron,  too,  and  a  good  deal  the  same  color. 
By  noon  it  hung  fairly,  as  it  were,  over  our  mastheads,  the 
brig  looking  by  comparison  as  tiny  and  as  ticklish  as  a 
craft  made  of  glass,  she  coasting  away  round*  with  yards 
braced  first  one  way  then  another,  and  opening  point  after 
point  from  three  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet  high ;  while 
at  times  she  would  go  stealing  in  with  a  faint  ripple  at 
her  bows,  near  enough  to  hear  the  deep  sound  of  the  sea 
plunging  slowly  to  the  face  of  the  rock,  where  the  surf 
rose  white  against  it  without  a  break. 

"There  was  n't  so  much  as  a  weed  to  be  seen,  the  rocks 
getting  redder  and  more  coppery,  sending  out  the  light  like 
metal,  till  you  'd  have  thought  they  tingled  all  over  with  the 
heat.  Then  as  you  opened  another  bulge  in  the  line,  the 
sharp  sugarloaf  hills,  far  away  up,  with  the  ragged  cliffs 
and  crags,  shot  over  against  the  bare  white  sky  in  all  sort  of 
shapes;  and  after  a  good  long  spell  of  the  sea,  there  was  little 
fancy  needed  to  give  one  the  notion  that  they  were  changing 
into  these,  as  we  passed  ahead,  to  mock  you.  There  was  one 
peak  for  all  the  world  like  the  top  of  St.  Paul's,  and  no 
end  of  church  spires  and  steeples,  all  lengths  and  ways; 
then  big  bells  and  trumpets,  mixed  with  wild  beasts'  heads, 
grinning  at  each  other  across  some  split  in  the  blue  beyond, 
and  soldiers'  helmets — not  to  speak  of  one  huge  block,  like  a 
nigger's  face  with  a  cowl  behind  it,  hanging  far  out  over 
the  water.  Save  for  the  color  of  it  all,  in  fact,  St.  Helena 
reminds  one  more  of  a  tremendous  iceberg  than  an  island, 
and  not  the  less  that  it  looks  ready  in  some  parts  to  topple 


272  THE  GREEN  HAND 

over  and  show  a  new  face;  while  the  sea  working  round  it, 
surging  into  the  hollows  below  water-mark,  and  making  the 
air  groan  inside  of  them,  keeps  up  a  noise  the  like  of  which 
you  would  n't  wish  to  cruise  alongside  of  every  day.  The 
strangest  thing  about  it,  however,  was  that  now  and  then,  as 
you  came  abreast  of  some  deep  gully  running  up  inland,  a 
sudden  blast  of  wind  would  rush  out  of  it,  sufficient  to  make 
the  'Podargus'  reel — with  a  savage,  thundering  roar,  too,  like 
the  howl  out  of  a  lion's  mouth;  while  you  looked  far  up  a 
narrow,  bare,  black  glen,  closing  into  a  hubbub  of  red  rocks, 
or  losing  itself  up  a  gray  hillside  in  a  white  thread  of  a 
water-course;  then  the  rough  shell  of  the  island  shut  in 
again,  as  still  as  before,  save  the  light  breeze  and  the  deep 
hum  of  the  surf  along  its  foot.  Curiously  enough  in  a 
latitude  like  St.  Helena's,  the  island  seems,  as  it  were,  a 
perfect  bag  of  air.  What  with  the  heat  of  the  rock,  its 
hollow  inside,  the  high  peaks  of  it  catching  the  clouds, 
and  the  narrow  outlets  it  has,  't  is  always  brewing  wind, 
you  may  say,  to  ventilate  that  part  of  the  tropics — just  as 
one  may  keep  up  cold  draughts  through  and  through  a  wet 
heap  of  loose  stones,  no  matter  how  hot  the  weather  is,  as 
long  as  he  pleases.  As  for  a  landing-place,  though,  there 
was  n't  one  of  the  gullies  that  did  n't  yawn  over  without 
falling  to  the  sea;  and,  not  to  mention  the  surf  underneath, 
where  the  dark  swell  came  in  unbroken  from  deep  water 
without  a  shoal  to  soften  it,  why,  watching  it  from  the 
brig's  side,  I  should  n't  have  said  a  cat  could  scramble  up 
or  down  the  steep  slopes  and  the  wreck  of  stones,  from 
the  water's  edge  to  the  jaws  of  the  easiest  gully  you  saw. 

"Once  or  twice,  standing  farther  off,  we  caught  sight  of 
Diana's  Peak  over  the  shoulder  of  a  hill,  with  the  light 
haze  melting  about  it;  at  last  you  noticed  a  large  gun 
mounted  against  the  sky  on  a  lofty  peak,  where  it  looked  like 
a  huge  telescope ;  and  on  clearing  another  headland,  a  beauti- 
ful frigate  came  in  between  us  and  the  burst  of  light  to 
seaward,  cruising  to  windward  under  easy  sail.  She  bore 
up  and  stood  towards  the  brig-of-war,  just  as  the  line 
of  wall  was  to  be  seen  winding  round  the  middle  of  Sugar- 
loaf  Point,  where  the  sentry's  bayonet  glittered  near  his 
watch-box,  and  the  soldiers'  red  coats  could  be  seen  moving 
through  the  covered  passage  to  the  batteries.  Five  minutes 
after,  the  'Podargus'  swept  round  the  breast  of  Rupert's  Hill 
into  the  bay,  in  sight  of  James  Town  and  the  ships  lying 
off  the  harbor;  clewing  up  her  sails  and  ready  to  drop 
anchor,  as  the  frigate  hove  to  not  far  astern. 


A  SEA  STORY  273 

"You  can  fancy  land  heaving  in  sight  after  thrice  as  many 
weeks  as  you  'vo  been  at  sea,  ladies ;  or  the  view  of  a  ship 
to  a  man  that 's  been  long  laid  up  in  bed  ashore ;  or  a  gulp  of 
fresh  water  in  a  sandy  desert — but  I  question  if  any  of  them 
matches  your  first  glimpse  of  James  Town  from  the  road- 
stead, like  a  bright  piece  of  fairy-work  in  the  mouth  of  the 
narrow  brown  valley,  after  seeing  desolation  enough  to  make 
you  wish  for  a  clear  horizon  again.  More  especially  this 
time,  when  all  the  while  one  could  n't  help  bringing  to  mind 
one's  notion  of  the  French  Emperor,  how,  not  long  ago, 
the  sight  of  the  French  coast,  or  a  strange  frigate  over  the 
Channel  swell,  used  to  make  us  think  of  him  far  ashore, 
with  half  the  earth  for  his  own  and  millions  of  soldiers. 
We  reefers  down  in  the  cockpit  would  save  our  grog  to  drink 
confusion  to  Napoleon,  and  in  a  rough  night  near  a  lee- 
shore,  it  was  look  alive  aloft,  or  choose  betwixt  cold  brine 
and  the  clutch  of  a  gendarme  hauling  you  to  land.  L  do 
believe  we  looked  upon  him  as  a  sort  of  god,  as  Captain 
Wallis  did  in  the  Temple;  every  ship  or  gunboat  we  saw 
taken,  or  had  a  hand  in  the  mauling  of,  why,  't  was  for 
the  sheer  sake  of  the  thing,  and  scarce  by  way  of  harm  to 
Boney;  while  nothing  like  danger,  from  breakers  on  the  lee- 
bow  to  a  November  gale,  but  had  seemingly  a  taste  of  him. 
None  of  us  any  more  thought  of  bringing  him  to  this,  than 
we  did  of  his  marching  into  London,  or  of  a  French  frigate 
being  able  to  rake  our  old  'Pandora'  in  a  set-to  on  green 
water  or  blue,  with  us  to  handle  her. 

"But  there  was  the  neat  little  cluster  of  houses,  white, 
yellow,  and  green,  spreading  down  close  together  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  valley,  and  out  along  the  sea's  edge;  the  rough 
brown  cliffs  sloping  up  on  each  side,  with  the  ladder-like 
way  to  the  fort  on  the  right,  mounting,  as  it  were,  out  of 
the  very  street,  to  the  flagstaff  on  the  top,  and  dotted  with 
red-coats  going  up  and  down;  a  bright  line  of  a  pier  and  a 
wall  before  the  whole,  the  Government  House  dazzling 
through  a  row  of  spreading  trees,  and  a  little  square  church- 
tower  to  be  seen  beyond.  'T  was  more  like  a  scene  in  a 
play,  than  aught  else ;  what  with  the  suddenness  of  it  all,  the 
tiny  look  of  it  betwixt  the  huge  rocks,  the  greenness  of 
the  trees  and  bushes,  and  patches  of  garden  struggling  up  as 
far  as  they  could  go  into  the  stone,  and  the  gay  little  toys  of 
cottages,  with  scarce  flat  enough  to  stand  upon;  save  for  the 
blue  swell  of  the  sea  plunging  lazily  in  through  the  bit  of 
a  bay,  and  the  streak  of  air  behind,  that  let  you  in  high 
over  the  head  of  the  hollow,  up  above  one  height  and  an- 


274  THE  GREEN  HAND 

other,  to  a  flat-headed  blue  rise  in  the  distance,  where  Long- 
wood  could  be  seen  from  the  main-cross-trees  I  had  gone 
to  as  the  sails  were  furled. 

"The  sunlight,  striking  from  both  the  red  sides  of  the 
ravine,  made  the  little  village  of  a  place,  trees  and  all,  glitter 
in  a  lump  together,  out  of  it,  like  no  spot  in  the  rest  of 
the  world ;  while  elsewhere  there  was  n't  so  much  as  a  weed  to 
be  seen  hanging  from  the  rock,  nor  the  sign  of  another 
human  habitation,  saving  the  bare  batteries  on  each 
hand,  with  a  few  sheds  and  warehouses  over  the  beach  along 
the  landing-place.  Once  or  twice  the  same  sudden  gust  as 
before  would  come  slap  down  through  the  valley  into  the 
brig's  bare  rigging,  hot  as  the  air  was,  with  a  howling  kind 
of  a  sigh  you  took  some  time  to  get  accustomed  to,  lest 
there  was  a  hurricane  to  follow ;  in  fact,  one  did  n't  well 
know  whether  it  was  the  wild  look  of  it  outside,  or  the 
lovely  spot  in  its  grim  mouth  of  a  landing-place,  but  the 
whole  island  gave  you  the  notion  of  a  thing  you  could  n't 
be  long  sure  of,  without  fancying  it  would  give  a  shake 
some  day  or  other  again;  or  else  spout  fire,  as  no  doubt  it 
had  done  before,  if  there  was  n't  more  fear  of  Napoleon 
getting  back  somehow  to  France,  and  wreaking  bloody  ven- 
geance on  the  kings  that  shut  him  up  in  St.  Helena. 

"There  was  apparently  a  busy  scene  ashore,  however,  both 
in  the  little  town,  which  has  scarce  more  than  a  single 
street,  and  along  the  quay,  full  of  residents,  as  well  as 
passengers  from  two  Indiamen  lying  in-shore  of  us,  while 
the  Government  esplanade  seemed  to  be  crowded  with 
ladies,  listening  to  the  regimental  band  under  the  trees.  The 
'Newcastle'  frigate,  with  Sir  Dudley  Aldcombe's  flag  hoisted 
at  her  mizzen,  was  at  anchor  out  abreast  at  Ladder  Hill ;  and 
our  first  lieutenant  had  scarce  pulled  aboard  of  the  'Hebe,' 
which  was  hove  to  off  the  brig's  quarter,  before  1  noticed 
the  Admiral's  barge  lying  alongside  the  'Hebe.' 

"Seeing  Mr.  Aldridge  on  his  way  back  shortly  after,  1 
came  down  the  rigging,  more  anxious  than  ever  to  have  my 
own  matter  settled;  indeed,  Captain  Wallis  no  sooner  caught 
sight  of  my  face,  uncomfortable  as  I  dare  say  it  looked,  than 
he  told  me  he  was  going  to  wait  on  the  Admiral  aboard  the 
'Hebe,'  and  would  take  me  with  him  at  once,  if  I  chose.  For 
my  part,  I  needed  nothing  but  the  leave,  and  in  ten  minutes' 
time  I  found  myself,  no  small  mark  of  curiosity,  betwixt  the 
waist  and  the  quarter-deck  of  the  'Hebe,'  where  the  officers 
eyed  me  with  as  little  appearance  of  rudeness  as  they  could 
help,  and  I  overhauled  the  spars  and  rigging  aloft  as  coolly 


A  SEA  STORY 


275 


as  I  could,  waiting  to  be  sent  for  below.  The  'Hebe,'  in 
fact,  was  the  very  beauty  of  a  twenty-eight;  taking  the 
shine,  and  the  wind,  too,  clean  out  of  everything  even  at 
Plymouth,  where  I  had  seen  her  once  a  year  or  two  before; 
our  poor  dear  old  'Iris'  herself  had  scarce  such  a  pattern 
of  a  hull,  falling  in,  as  it  did,  from  the  round  swell  of  her 
bilge,  to  just  under  the  plank-sheer,  and  spreading  out  again 
with  her  bright  black  top-sides,  till  where  the  figure-head  shot 
over  the  cut-water,  and  out  of  her  full  pair  of  bows,  like  a 
swan's  neck  out  of  its  breast.  As  for  the  'Iris,'  our  boat- 
swain himself  one  day  privately  confessed  to  me,  almost 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  she  tumbled  home  a  thought  too 
much  just  in  front  of  the  fore-chains,  and  he  'd  tried  to  get 
it  softened  off  with  dead  planking  and  paint,  but  it  would  n't 
do;  everybody  saw  through  them.  The  truth  was,  to  feel  this 
fine  ship  under  one,  with  her  loose  topsails  hanging  high 
against  the  gloom  of  the  red  gully  towards  Longwood,  and 
the  gay  little  town  peeping  just  over  her  larboard  bow,  a 
mile  away,  it  somehow  or  other  cleared  one's  mind  of  a  load. 

"I  was  thinking  already  how,  if  one  had  the  command  of 
such  a  craft,  to  do  something  with  her  at  sea — hang  it! 
but  surely  that  old  Judge  could  n't  be  too  proud  to  give 
him  a  fair  hearing.  By  Jove!  thought  I — had  one  only  wild 
enough  weather,  off  the  Cape,  say — if  I  wouldn't  undertake 
to  bother  even  a  seventy-four  for  a  whole  voyage  through, 
till  she  struck  her  flag;  in  which  case  a  fellow  might  really 
venture  to  hold  his  head  up  and  speak  his  mind,  lovely  as 
Violet  Hyde  would  be  in  Calcutta.  But  then,  again,  there 
was  St.  Helena  towering  red  and  rough  over  the  ships,  with 
the  grand  French  Emperor  hidden  in  it  hard  and  fast,  and 
all  the  work  he  used  to  give  us  at  an  end ! 

"Just  at  the  moment,  happening  to  catch  sight  of  the 
American  mate's  sallow  black  visage  over  the  brig-of -war's 
hammock-cloths,  peering  as  he  did  from  the  cliffs  to  the  lofty 
spars  of  the  frigate,  while  his  negro  shipmates  were  to  be 
made  out  nearer  the  bows — somehow  or  other  the  whole 
affair  of  their  being  burned  out  and  picked  up  started  into 
my  mind  again,  along  with  our  late  queer  adventures  in 
the  Indiamaii.  Not  to  mention  Captain  Wallis's  story,  it 
flashed  upon  me  all  at  once,  for  the  first  time,  that  the 
strange  schooner  was  after  some  scheme  as  regarded  the 
island;  and  a  man  more  likely  to  try  something  uncommon 
than  the  Frenchman  I  never  had  seen  yet.  The  truth  was, 
but  for  my  thoughts  being  otherwise  taken  up,  I  'd  have 
wondered  at  my  own  confounded  stupidity  in  not  fathoming 


276  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  thing  sooner;  whereas  now  I'm  not  going  to  deny  it,  I 
half  began  actually  to  wish  him  good  success,  or  else  a 
close  miss  of  it,  where  either  way  one  could  n't  well  fail 
having  a  share  in  the  squall. 

"At  any  rate,  I  saw  it  was  cunningly  enough  gone  about; 
this  same  burned  barque  of  the  Yankee's,  I  perceived  in  a 
moment,  was  part  of  the  plot;  though  as  for  meddling  in 
it  till  I  saw  more,  't  was  likely  to  spoil  the  whole ;  let  alone 
making  an  ass  of  one's  self  in  case  of  mistake.  1  was 
eying  the  shipwrecked  mate,  indeed,  when  one  of  the  lieu- 
tenants told  me  politely  the  Admiral  wanted  to  see  me 
in  the  cabin  below. 

"Not  being  much  accustomed  to  admirals'  society,  as  a 
little  white-haired  fellow-reefer  of  mine  once  said  at  a  te^ 
party  ashore,  I  came  in  at  the  door  with  rather  an  awkward 
bow,  no  doubt;  for  Sir  Dudley,  who  was  sitting  on  the  sofa 
with  his  cocked  hat  and  sword  beside  him,  talking  to  Cap- 
tain Wallis,  turned  his  head  at  the  captain's  word,  as  if  he 
were  trying  to  keep  in  a  smile.  A  tall,  fine-looking  man  he 
was,  and  few  seamen  equal  to  him  for  handling  a  large 
fleet,  as  I  knew,  though  his  manners  were  finished  enough 
to  have  made  him  easy  in  a  king's  court.  As  for  the  captain 
of  the  'Hebe,'  he  was  leaning  out  of  an  open  stern  window, 
seemingly  a  young  man ;  but  who  he  might  be  I  did  n't 
know  at  the  moment.  The  Admiral  had  only  a  question  or 
two  to  put,  before  he  looked  back  to  Captain  Wallis  again, 
remarking  it  was  clear  he  had  brought  away  the  wrong  man. 
'I  did  n't  think  you  were  so  dull  in  the  "Podargus," '  said  he, 
smiling,  'as  to  let  an  Indiaman  play  off  such  a  trick  on  you 
—eh,  Captain  Wallis !' 

"Captain  Wallis  glanced  round  the  cabin,  and  then  side- 
ways down  at  Sir  Dudley's  cocked  hat,  in  a  funny  enough 
way,  as  much  as  to  say  he  took  all  the  blame  on  himself ;  and 
it  struck  me  more  than  ever  what  a  kind  heart  the  man  had 
in  him — if  you  only  set  aside  his  hatred  to  Bonaparte, 
which  in  fact  was  nothing  else  but  a  twisted  sort  of  proof 
of  the  same  thing.  'Pooh,  pooh,  Wallis,'  continued  Sir 
Dudley,  'we  can't  do  anything  in  the  matter;  though,  if  the 
service  were  better  than  it  really  is  at  present,  I  should  cer- 
tainly incline  to  question  a  smart  young  fellow  like  this, 
that  has  held  his  Majesty's  commission,  for  idling  in  an 
Indiaman  after  the  lady  passengers!  I  am  afraid,  sir,'  said 
he  to  me,  'you  've  lost  your  passage,  though — unless  the 
captain  of  the  "Hebe"  will  give  you  his  second  berth  here,  to 
make  amends.  You  need  not  be  afraid,  Lord  Frederick!' 


A  SEA  STORY  277 

added  he,  looking  toward  the  captain  of  the  frigate,  and  rais- 
ing his  voice;  'you  do  not  know  him,  after  all,  I  suppose!' 
The  captain  drew  in  his  head,  saying  he  had  been  doubtful 
about  one  of  the  pivots  of  the  rudder,  then  turned  full 
round  and  looked  uneasily  at  me,  on  which  his  face  bright- 
ened immediately,  and  he  said,  'No,  Sir  Dudley,  I  do  not!' 
1  was  still  in  ignorance  for  a  moment  or  so,  myself,  who 
this  titled  young  post-captain  might  be,  though  I  had  cer- 
tainly seen  him  before;  till  all  at  once  I  recollected  him, 
with  a  start  as  pleasant  to  me  as  his  seemed  to  him  at  not 
knowing  me.  Both  Westwood  and  I  had  been  midshipmen 
together  for  a  while  in  the  'Orion,'  fifty-gun  ship,  where  he 
was  second  lieutenant,  several  years  before.  As  for  me,  I 
was  too  fond  of  a  frigate  to  stay  longer  in  her  than  I  could 
help;  but  I  remembered  my  being  a  pest  to  the  second 
lieutenant,  and  Tom's  being  a  favorite  of  his,  so  that  he 
stayed  behind  me,  and  got  master's-mate  as  soon  as  he  was 
''passed.' 

"The  Honorable  Frederick  Bury  he  was  then,  and  the 
handsomest  young  fellow  in  the  squadron,  as  well  as  the 
best-natured  aboard;  I  don't  believe  he  knew  how  to  splice 
in  a  dead-eye,  and  any  of  the  master's-mates  could  take 
charge  of  the  ship  better  in  a  rough  night,  I  dare  say;  but 
for  a  gallant  affair  in  the  way  of  hard  knocks,  with  man- 
agement to  boot,  there  was  n't  his  match.  He  never  was 
known  to  fail  when  he  took  a  thing  in  hand;  lost  fewer 
men,  too,  than  anyone  else  did;  and  whenever  there  turned 
up  anything  ticklish  for  the  boats,  it  was  always  'Mr.  Bury 
will  lead.'  'The  Honorable  Bury,'  we  used  to  call  him,  and 
'Fighting  Free-the-Deck.'  Westwood  was  one  of  his  school, 
whereas  /  had  learned  from  Jacobs  in  a  merchantman's  fore- 
castle; and  many  a  time  did  we  play  off  such  tricks  on 
the  second  lieutenant  as  coming  gravely  aft  to  him  during 
the  watch,  three  or  four  of  us  together,  me  carrying  a  bit  of 
rope  where  a  'Turk's-head'  or  a  'mouse'  was  to  be  worked, 
while  I  asked  him  innocently  to  show  us  the  way.  Or  else 
it  was  some  dispute  we  contrived  beforehand,  as  to  the 
best  plan  of  sending  up  new  topmasts  at  sea,  or  running 
out  of  a  'round'  gale  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  on  which  the 
men  forward  would  be  all  ready  to  break  out  laughing; 
and  the  second  lieutenant,  after  thinking  a  moment,  would 
quietly  pitch  upon  me  to  go  aloft,  and  study  the  point 
for  two  hours  at  the  masthead. 

"'What  is  your  name  then,  young  man?'  inquired  Sir 
Dudley  Aldcombe  of  me.  The  instant  I  told  him,  Lord 


278  THE  GREEN  HAND 

Frederick  Bury  gave  me  another  look,  then  a  smile.  'What  ?' 
said  he,  'Collins  that  was  in  the  "Orion"  'C  'Yes,  Lord 
Frederick,'  said  I,  'the  same;  I  was  third  in  the  "Iris"  off 
the  West  African  coast  since  then.'  'Why,'  said  he,  'I  recol- 
lect you  quite  well,  Mr.  Collins,  although  you  have  grown 
a  foot,  I  think,  sir — but  your  eye  reminds  me  of  sundry 
pranks  you  used  to  play  on  board!  What  nickname  was  it 
your  messmates  called  you,  by  the  bye?'  'Something  foolish 
enough,  I  suppose,  my  lord,'  replied  I,  biting  my  lip;  'but  I 
remember  clearly  having  the  honor  to  steer  the  second  cutter 
in-shore  one  dark  night  near  Dunkirk,  when  your  lordship 
carried  the  Dutch  brig  and  the  two  French  chasse-marees — 

"  'Faith/  broke  in  the  captain  of  the  'Hebe,'  'you  've  a 
better  memory  than  I  have — I  do  not  recollect  any  chasse^ 
marees  at  all  that  time,  Mr.  Collins!'  'Why,'  said  I,  'I  got 
a  knock  on  the  head  from  a  fellow  in  a  red  shirt — that  always 
kept  me  in  mind.'  'Oh,'  remarked  the  Admiral  to  Captain 
Wallis,  laughing,  'Lord  Frederick  Bury  must  have  had  so 
many  little  parties  of  the  kind  that  his  memory  can't  be 
expected  to  be  very  nice !  However,  I  shall  go  ashore  at  pres- 
ent, gentlemen,  leaving  the  "Hebe"  and  you  to  dispose  of 
this  runaway  lieutenant  in  some  way  or  other.  Only  you  'd 
better  settle  it  before  Admiral  Plampin  arrives!'  'Have  you 
seen  the — the — Longwood  lately,  Sir  Dudley  ?'  asked  the  cap- 
tain of  the  'Podargus,'  carelessly.  'Yes,  not  many  days  ago 
3  had  an  interview,'  said  the  Admiral,-  gravely;  'proud  as 
ever,  and  evidently  resolved  not  to  flinch  from  his  condition. 
'T  is  wonderful  the  command  that  man  has  over  himself, 
Wallis — he  speaks  of  the  whole  world  and  its  affairs  like  one 
that  sees  into  them,  and  had  them  still  nearly  under  his  foot ! 
All  saving  those  miserable  squabbles  with  Plantation  House, 
which — but,  next  time  I  shall  take  my  leave,  and  wash  my 
hands  of  the  whole  concern,  I  am  glad  to  think !' 

"Lord  Frederick  was  talking  to  me  meanwhile  at  the 
other  end  of  the  cabin,  but  I  was  listening  in  spite  of  myself 
to  Sir  Dudley  Aldcombe,  and  noticed  that  Captain  Wallis 
made  no  answer.  'By  the  way,  Wallis,'  continued  the  Ad- 
miral, '  't  is  curious  that  he  seemed  anxious  more  than 
once  to  know  what  you  think  of  him — I  believe  ho  would  like 
to  see  you!'  'To  see  me!'  said  the  commander  of  the  'Podar- 
gus,' suddenly.  'At  last,  does  he!  No,  Sir  Dudley,  he  and 
I  never  will  meet;  he  ought  to  havfe  thought  of  it  twelve  years 
sooner!  God  knows,'  he  went  on,  'the  commander  of  a  ten- 
gun  brig  is  too  small  a  man  to  see  the  Emperor  Napoleon  a 
prisoner — but  in  ten  years  of  war,  Sir  Dudley,  what  might  n't 


A  SEA  STORY  279 

one  have  been,  instead  of  being  remembered  after  as  only 
plain  John  Wallis,  whom  Bonaparte  kept  all  that  time  in 
prison,  and  who  was  sent  in  course  of  time,  to  cruise  off  St. 
Helena?'  Here  the  Admiral  said  something  about  a  British 
sailor  not  keeping  malice,  and  Captain  Wallis  looked  up 
at  him  gravely.  'No,'  replied  he ;  'no,  Sir  Dudley,  I  should  n't 
have  chosen  the  thing ;  but  in  the  meantime  I  'm  only  doing 
my  duty.  There 's  a  gloomy  turn  in  my  mind  by  this  time, 
no  doubt;  but  you've  no  idea,  Sir  Dudley,  how  the  thought 
of  other  people  comes  into  one's  head  when  he 's  years 
shut  up — so  /  may  stand  for  many  a  one  Bonaparte  will 
never  see  more  than  myself,  that  '11  ring  him  round  surer 
than  those  rocks  there,  though  they  're  dead  and  in  their 
graves,  Sir  Dudley!'  The  Admiral  shook  his  head,  ob- 
serving that  Napoleon  was  no  common  man,  and  ought  n't 
to  be  judged  as  such.  'Too  many  victories  in  that  eye 
of  his,  I  suspect,  Captain  Wallis,'  said  he,  'for  either  Plan- 
tation House  or  his  own  conscience  to  break  his  spirit!' 

"  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  answered  the  captain  respectfully,  'excuse 
me,  Sir  Dudley,  but  there  it  is — so  long  as  he 's  got  his 
victories  to  fall  back  upon,  he  can't  see  how,  if  he  'd  re- 
garded common  men  more,  with  all  belonging  to  them,  he 
would  n't  have  been  here !  Why  did  Providence  shut  him 
up  in  a  dead  volcano,  with  blue  water  round  it,  Sir  Dudley, 
if  it  was  n't  to  learn  somehow  or  other  he  was  a  man 
after  all  ?'  Sir  Dudley  Aldcombe  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
looked  to  Lord  Frederick,  upon  which  he  rose,  and  the  two 
captains  followed  him  out  of  the  cabin;  in  five  minutes  I 
heard  the  side  piped  for  the  Admiral's  leaving,  and  soon  after 
the  captain  of  the  'Hebe'  came  below  again. 

"  'This  is  a  disagreeable  affair  of  your  old  messmate's, 
Mr.  Collins,'  said  he  seriously.  'You  are,  perhaps,  not  awaro 
that  Captain  Duncombe  was  a  relative  of  my  own,  and 
the  fact  of  his  property  having  fallen  by  will  to  myself, 
rendered  my  position  the  more  peculiarly  disagreeable,  had  I 
been  obliged  not  only  to  recognize  Lieutenant  Westwood  here, 
but  afterwards  to  urge  proceedings  against  him,  even  if  he 
were  let  off  by  court-martial.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  the 
sight  of  a  stranger,  as  I  thought,  relieved  me,  sir!'  'Indeed, 
Lord  Frederick!'  replied  I,  too  much  confused  in  the  cir- 
cumstances to  say  more.  However,  his  lordship's  manner 
soon  set  me  at  my  ease,  the  old  good-humored  smile  coming 
ever  his  fine  features  again,  while  he  went  on  to  offer  me  the 
place  of  his  second  lieutenant,  who  was  going  home  very  ill 
by  one  of  the  homeward-bound  Indiamen;  adding,  that  Sir 


28o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

Dudley  would  confirm  the  appointment;  indeed,  he  could 
scarce  help  himself,  he  said,  as  there  was  nobody  else  he  could 
get  at  present. 

"  'You  must  be  a  thorough  good  sailor  by  this  time,  Col- 
lins,' continued  he,  'if  you  have  gone  on  at  the  rate  you 
used  to  do.  I  remember  how  fond  you  were  of  having 
charge  for  a  minute  or  two  of  the  old  "Orion,"  or  when  I 
let  you  put  her  about  in  my  watch.  Why  they  called  you 
"Young  Green"  I  never  could  understand,  unless  it  was  ut 
lucus  a  non  lucendo,  as  we  used  to  say  at  Eaton,  you  know. 
Well,  what  do  you  say?'  Now,  as  you  may  suppose,  the  idea  of 
boxing  about  St.  Helena,  for  Heaven  knew  how  long,  did  n't 
at  all  suit  my  liking — with  the  thought  of  the  'Seringapatam' 
steering  away  for  Bombay  the  whole  time,  and  a  hundred 
notions  of  Violet  Hyde  in  India — 't  would  have  driven  me 
madder  than  the  Temple  did  Captain  Wallis :  but  it  was  only 
the  first  part  of  my  mind  I  gave  Lord  Frederick.  'What !'  ex- 
claimed he,  with  a  flush  over  his  face,  and  drawing  up  his  tall 
figure,  'you  did  n't  suppose,  /  should  remain  here  ?  Why, 
the  "Hebe"  is  on  her  way  for  Calcutta  and  Canton,  and 
will  sail  as  soon  as  the  "Conqueror"  arrives  at  James 
Town  with  Admiral  Plampin.'  'Your  lordship  is  very  kind,' 
said  I,  looking  clown  to  cover  my  delight;  'and  if  I  am  not 
worthy  of  the  post  it  shan't  be  my  fault,  Lord  Frederick/ 
'Ah,  very  good!'  said  he,  smiling;  "t  is  an  opportunity  you 
ought  n't  to  let  slip,  Collins,  let  me  tell  you !  For  my  own 
part,  I  should  just  as  soon  cut  out  a  pirate  in  the  Straits  of 
Malacca  as  a  French  brig  in  the  Channel;  and  there  are 
plenty  of  them,  I  hear,  there.  As  for  a  chase,  sir,  I  natter 
myself  you  won't  easily  see  a  finer  thing  than  the  "Hebe" 
spreading  her  cloth  after  one  of  those  fast  proas  will  be — 
I  think  you  are  just  the  fellow  to  make  her  walk,  too,  Mr. 
Collins — pah !  to  compare  a  day  on  the  Derby  turf  with 
that,  would  be  a  sin!  You  have  no  idea,  sir,  how  one  longs 
for  a  fair  horizon  again,  and  brisk  breezes,  when  so  ineffably 
tired  out  of  all  those  ballrooms,  and  such  things  as  you 
see  about  town  just  now — only  I  fear  I  shall  wish  to  be  sec- 
ond lieutenant  again,  eh?' 

"The  noble  captain  of  the  'Hebe'  turned  to  look  out  through 
the  stern  window  to  seaward,  his  face  losing  the  weary  sort 
of  half-melancholy  cast  it  had  shown  for  the  last  minute, 
while  his  eye  glistened;  and  it  struck  me  how  well  matched 
the  'Hebe'  and  her  commander  were ;  you  'd  have  said  both 
had  good  blood  in  them,  both  being  models  to  look  at  of 
their  kind,  and  the  frigate  lifting  under  you  at  the  moment, 


A  SEA  STORY  281 

from  the  keel  upward,  with  a  check  aloft  in  her  main-topsail, 
that  lifted  her  stem  to  the  surge.  A  small  telescope  rolled 
off  the  sofa  on  to  the  cabin  deck,  and  as  I  picked  it  up^ 
another  gust  could  be  heard  coming  down  St.  James  Valley 
from  inside  the  island;  through  the  gun-port  one  saw  the 
trees  wave  over  the  hot  white  houses  in  the  bright-colored 
little  town,  while  the  ship's  canvas  gave  another  nutter 
above-decks.  Lord  Frederick  laughed,  and  said,  'Then  I  sup- 
pose we  need  say  no  more  about  it,  Mr.  Collins,  except  re- 
ferring once  for  all  to  Sir  Dudley  ?'  I  bowed,  and  the  upshot 
was,  that,  an  hour  or  two  after,  I  had  my  acting  commission 
sent  me  from  the  Admiral,  the  same  boat  having  called  at 
the  'Podargus'  for  my  things;  upon  which  Lord  Frederick 
introduced  me  to  the  first  lieutenant,  and  I  found  myself 
once  more  doing  duty  in  the  service — the  'Hebe'  standing  out 
to  leeward  with  the  last  light,  just  as  the  'Podargus'  was 
tripping  anchor  to  beat  round  again  the  other  way.  As  for 
our  friends  from  the  burned  vessel,  I  must  say  I  had  forgot 
them  already,  for  the  time  at  least. 

"Every  block,  crag,  and  knot  in  the  huge  crust  of  the  rock 
shone  terribly  bright  for  a  minute  or  two,  aloft  from  over  the 
yard-ends,  as  she  stood  suddenly  out  into  the  fiery  gleam  of 
the  sun  going  down  many  a  mile  away  in  the  Atlantic.  Then 
up  leaped  the  light  keener  and  keener  to  the  very  topmost 
peak,  till  you  'd  have  thought  it  went  in  like  a  living  thing 
behind  a  telegraph,  that  stood  out  against  a  black  cleft 
betwixt  two  cliffs.  We  saw  the  evening  gun  off  Ladder  Hill 
flash  upon  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  seemingly  throwing  up 
the  peak  and  flagstaff  a  dozen  feet  higher;  and  the  boom  of 
the  gun  sounding  in  among  the  wild  hills  and  hollows  within 
the  island,  as  if  one  heard  it  going  up  to  Longwood  door. 
Scarce  was  it  lost,  ere  a  star  or  two  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
shadow  on  the  other  side,  and  you  listened  almost,  in  the  hush 
following  upon  the  gunfire,  for  an  echo  to  it,  or  something 
stranger;  in  place  of  which  the  'Hebe'  was  already  forging 
ahead  in  the  dark  to  get  well  clear  of  the  land,  every  wave 
bringing  its  own  blackness  with  it  up  toward  her  fore-chains, 
then  sparkling  back  to  her  waist  in  the  seeth  of  foam  as  she 
felt  the  breeze;  while  St.  Helena  lay  towering  along  to 
larboard,  with  its  ragged  top  blotting  against  the  deep  dark 
blue  of  the  sky,  all  filling  as  it  was  with  the  stars. 

"I  had  the  middle  watch  that  night,  the  ship  being  under 
short  canvas,  and  slowly  edging  down  to  make  the  most 
leewardly  point  of  the  island,  from  which  she  was  to  beat 
up  again  at  her  leisure  by  the  morning.  All  we  had  to  do 


282  THE  GREEN  HAND 

was  to  keep  a  good  lookout,  on  the  one  hand,  into  the  streak 
of  starlight  to  seaward,  and  011  the  other  along  the  foot  of  the 
rocks,  as  well  as  holding  her  well  in  hand,  in  case  of  some 
sudden  squall  through  the  valleys  from  inside. 

"However,  I  shan't  easily  forget  the  thoughts  that  ran 
in  my  mind,  walking  the  quarter-deck  with  the  frigate  under 
charge,  the  first  time  I  noticed  Orion  and  the  Serpent  begin 
to  wheel  glittering  away  from  over  Diana's  Peak — the  others 
stealing  quietly  into  sight  after  them,  past  the  leech  of  our 
main-topsail :  scarce  an  English  star  to  be  seen  for  the  height 
of  the  island  off  our  quarter;  some  of  the  men  on  one  side  of 
the  booms  humming  a  song  about  Napoleon's  dream,  which 
you  '11  hear  to  this  day  in  ships'  forecastles ;  another  yarning 
solemnly,  on  the  other  side,  about  some  old  sweetheart  of  his 
— but  all  of  them  ready  to  jump  at  my  own  least  word.  In 
the  morning,  however,  there  we  were,  stretching  back  by 
degrees  to  go  round  the  lee  side  of  the  island  again,  the 
haze  melting  off  Diana's  Peak  as  before,  and  the  sea  rolling 
in  swells  as  blue  as  indigo,  to  the  huge  red  lumps  of  bare 
crag ;  while  the  bright  surges  leaped  out  of  them  all  along  the 
frigate's  side,  and  the  spray  rose  at  times  to  her  figure-head. 

"During  the  day  we  cruised  farther  out,  and  the  'Hebe'  had 
enough  to  do  in  seeing  off  one  Indiaman  for  home,  and  speak- 
ing another  outward-bound  craft,  that  passed  forty  miles  off 
or  so,  without  touching;  the  Governor's  telegraphs  were  eter- 
nally at  work  on  the  heights,  bothering  her  for  the  least  trifle, 
and  making  out  a  sail  sixty  miles  off,  it  was  said.  For  my 
part,  I  was  pretty  well  tired  of  it  already,  sincerely  wishing 
for  the  'Conqueror/  with  Admiral  Plampin,  to  heave  in  sight ; 
but  glad  enough  all  aboard  the  'Hebe'  were,  when,  after  an 
entire  week  of  the  thing,  it  came  to  her  turn,  with  the  'New- 
castle' and  'Podargus,'  to  lie  at  anchor  off  James  Town,  where 
half  the  ship's  company  at  a  time  had  their  liberty  ashore. 

"For  my  part,  I  had  to  see  after  the  frigate's  water-tanks, 
and  a  gang  at  the  rigging,  till  the  afternoon,  when  Lord 
Frederick  took  the  first  lieutenant  and  myself  ashore  with 
him  in  his  gig;  and  no  joke  it  was  landing  even  tliere,  where 
the  swell  of  the  surf  nigh  hand  hove  her  right  up  on  the  quay, 
while  you  had  to  look  sharp,  in  case  the  next  wave  washed 
you  back  again  off  your  feet.  The  whole  place  was  hot  as 
could  be  from  the  sun's  rays  off  the  rocks,  slanting  bare  red 
to  the  cloudless  sky,  on  both  sides  of  the  neat  little  gaudy 
houses  crowded  in  the  mouth  of  the  valley,  which  narrowed 
away  beyond  the  rise  of  the  street,  till  you  did  n't  see  how 
you  'd  get  farther.  But  for  the  air  of  the  sea,  indeed,  with 


A  SEA  STORY  283 

now  and  then  a  breath  down  out  of  the  hills,  't  was  for  all  the 
world  like  a  half -kindled  oven;  except  under  the  broad  trees 
along  the  Government  esplanade,  where  one  couldn't  have 
stood  for  people.  What  with  blacks,  lascars,  Chinamen,  and 
native  'Yamstocks,'  together  with  liberty-men  from  the 
men-of-war  and  Indiaman,  as  well  as  reefers  trotting  about 
on  ponies  and  donkeys,  the  very  soldiers  could  scarce  get 
down  the  foot  of  the  road  up  Ladder  Hill;  as  for  the  little 
town  holding  one  half  of  them,  it  was  out  of  the  question, 
but  the  noise  and  kick-up  were  beyond  aught  else  of  the  kind, 
save  in  a  Calcutta  bazaar.  Accordingly,  it  was  pleasant 
enough  at  last  to  come  within  a  shady  walk  of  thick  green  fig- 
trees,  growing  almost  out  of  the  rock  near  the  main  battery, 
above  the  small  sound  of  the  water  far  below;  the  very  sea 
looking  bluer  through  the  leaves,  while  some  birds  no  bigger 
than  wrens  hopped,  chirruping,  about  the  branches. 

"Here  we  met  Sir  Dudley  Aldcombe  coming  down  from 
the  batteries  along  with  some  Company's  officers  from  India, 
and  he  stopped  to  speak  to  Lord  Frederick,  giving  the  first 
lieutenant  and  me  a  bow  in  return,  as  we  lifted  our  hats  and 
waited  behind.  The  Admiral  proposed  to  get  Lord  Frederick 
a  pass  to  visit  Napoleon  along  with  himself  next  day,  as  the 
'Conqueror'  would  probably  arrive  very  soon.  'You  will  oblige 
me  greatly,  Sir  Dudley,'  said  the  captain  of  the  'Hebe.'  'He 
seems  as  fond  of  seeing  a  true  sailor,'  said  the  Admiral,  'as 
if  we  'd  never  done  him  harm.  Things  will  be  worse  after  1 
go.  By  the  way,'  added  he  suddenly,  '  't  is  curious  enough, 
but  there 's  one  person  in  the  island  at  present  has  made 
wonderful  progress  in  Sir  Hudson's  good  graces,  for  the  short 
time — that  American  botanist,  or  whatever  he  calls  himself 
that  Captain  Wallis  took  off  the  burned  vessel  on  his  way 
here.  Your  new  lieutenant  was  aboard  at  the  time,  you 
know,  Lord  Frederick.'  'You  saw  him,  sir,  of  course?'  said 
the  Admiral,  looking  to  me.  'Only  for  a  minute  that  night, 
Sir  Dudley,'  said  1;  'and  afterwards  both  he  and  his  servant 
were  under  the  surgeon's  charge  below.'  'Well,'  continued 
Sir  Dudley  to  the  captain,  'they  seem  quite  recovered  now; 
for  I  saw  them  to-day  up  at  Plantation  House,  where  the 
philosopher  was  in  close  discourse  with  the  Governor  about 
plants  and  such  things;  while  her  ladyship  was  as  much 
engaged  with  the  assistant,  who  can  only  speak  Spanish.  A 
remarkable-looking  man  the  latter  is,  too;  a  Mexican,  I 
understand,  with  Indian  blood  in  him,  apparently — whereas 
his  principal  has  a  strong  Yankee  twang;  and  queer  enough 
it  was  to  hear  him  snuffling  away  as  solemnly  as  possible 


284  THE  GREEN  HAND 

about  ~buttany  and  such  things — besides  his  hinting  at  some 
great  discovery  likely  to  be  made  in  the  island,  which  Sir 
Hudson  seemed  rather  anxious  to  keep  quiet  from  me/ 

"What  Sir  Dudley  said  made  me  prick  up  my  ears,  as 
you  may  fancy.  I  could  scarce  believe  the  thing ;  't  was  so 
thoroughly  rich  and  so  confoundedly  cool  at  once,  to  risk 
striking  at  the  very  heart  of  things  this  way  with  the  Gover- 
nor himself ;  but  the  whole  scheme,  so  far,  flashed  upon  me  in 
a  moment,  evidently  carried  on,  as  it  had  been  all  along,  by 
some  one  bold  enough  for  anything  earthly,  and  with  no  small 
cunning  besides.  All  that  he  needed,  no  doubt,  was  somebody 
else  with  the  devil's  own  impudence  and  plenty  of  talk;  nor, 
if  I  'd  thought  for  a  day  together,  could  one  have  pitched 
easily  upon  a  customer  as  plausible  as  our  friend  Daniel,  who 
had  n't  a  spark  of  fear  in  him,  I  knew,  just  owing  to  his  want 
of  respect  for  aught  in  the  entire  creation.  Still  I  could  n't, 
for  the  life  of  me,  see  what  the  end  of  their  plan  was  to  be, 
unless  the  strange  Frenchman  might  have  been  some  general 
or  other  under  Bonaparte,  and  just  wanted  to  see  his  old  com- 
mander once  more ;  which,  thought  I,  I  '11  be  hanged  if  I  don't 
think  fair  enough,  much  pains  as  he  had  put  himself  to  for 
the  thing. 

"  'How !'  asked  Lord  Frederick,  'a  discovery  did  you 
say,  Sir  Dudley?'  'Oh,  nothing  of  the  kind  we  should  care 
about,  after  all,'  said  the  Admiral ;  'from  what  I  could  gather, 
't  was  only  scientific,  though  the  American  called  it  a  pretty 
important  fact.  This  Mr.  Mathewson  Brown,  I  believe,  was 
sent  by  the  States'  Government  as  botanist  in  an  expedi- 
tion to  southward,  and  has  leave  from  Sir  Hudson  to  use 
his  opportunity  before  the  next  Indiaman  sails,  for  examin- 
ing part  of  the  island,  and  to-day  he  thought  he  found  the 
same  plants  in  St.  Helena  as  he  did  in  Gough's  Island  and 
Tristan  d'Acunha,  twelve  hundred  miles  off,  near  the  Cape, 
showing,  as  he  said,  how  once  on  a  time  there  must  have  been 
land  between  them,  perhaps  as  far  as  Ascension !'  'Why,'  put 
in  Lord  Frederick,  'that  would  have  made  a  pretty  good  em- 
pire, even  for  Napoleon!'  'So  it  would,  my  lord,'  said  Sir 
Dudley,  'much  better  than  Elba;  but  the  strangest  part  of  it 
is,  this  Mr.  Brown  was  just  telling  his  Excellency,  as  I  en- 
tered the  room,  that  some  of  the  ancient  philosophers  wrote 
about  this  said  country  existing  in  the  Atlantic  before  the 
Flood — how  rich  it  was,  with  the  kings  it  had,  and  the  wars 
carried  on  there;  till,  on  account  of  their  doings,  no  doubt, 
what  with  an  earthquake,  a  volcano,  and  the  ocean  together, 
they  all  sunk  to  the  bottom  except  the  tops  of  the  mountains  I 


A  SEA  STORY  285 

Now,  I  must  say,'  continued  the  Admiral,  'all  this  learning 
seemed  to  one  to  come  rather  too  much  by  rote  out  of  this 
gentleman's  mouth,  and  the  American  style  of  his  talk  made 
it  somewhat  ludicrous,  though  he  evidently  believed  in  what 
may  be  all  very  true — particularly  in  mentioning  the  trea- 
sures that  must  lie  under  water  for  leagues  round,  or  even 
in  nooks  about  the  St.  Helena  rocks ;  I  thought  his  very  teeth 
watered.  As  for  Sir  Hudson,  lie  had  caught  at  the  idea 
altogether,  but  rather  in  view  of  an  historical  work  on  the 
island,  from  the  earliest  times  till  now — and  I  believe  he 
means  to  accompany  the  two  botanists  himself  over  toward 
Longwood  to-morrow,  where  we  may  very  likely  get  sight  of 
them.' 

"  'O — h !'  thought  I,  and  Lord  Frederick  Bury  smiled. 
'Rather  a  novelty,  indeed!'  said  he;  and  the  first  lieutenant 
looked  significantly  enough  to  me,  as  we  leaned  over  the 
battery-wall,  watching  the  hot  horizon  through  the  spars  of 
the  ships  before  James  Town.  'What  amused  me/  Sir  Dudley 
said  again,  'was  the  American  botanist's  utter  indifference, 
when  I  asked  if  he  had  seen  anything  of  "The  General"  in 
the  distance.  The  Governor  started,  glancing  sharp  at  Mr. 
Brown,  and  I  noticed  his  dark  companion  give  a  sudden  side- 
look  from  the  midst  of  his  talk  with  her  ladyship ;  whereupon 
the  botanist  merely  pointed  with  his  thumb  to  the  floor,  ask- 
ing coolly  "what  it  was  to  science  ?"  At  this,'  added  Sir  Dud- 
ley to  the  captain,  'his  Excellency  seemed  much  relieved ;  and 
after  having  got  leave  for  myself  and  your  lordship  to-mor- 
row, I  left  them  still  in  the  spirit  of  it.  It  certainly  struck 
me  that,  in  the  United  States  themselves,  educated  men  in 
general  could  n't  have  such  a  vulgar  manner  about  them — in 
fact,  I  thought  the  Mexican  attendant  more  the  gentleman  of 
the  two — his  face  was  turned  half  from  me  most  of  the  time, 
but  still  it  struck  me  as  remarkably  intelligent.'  'Ah,'  said 
Lord  Frederick,  carelessly,  'all  the  Spaniards  h?ve  naturally 
a  noble  sort  of  airT  you  know,  Sir  Dudley — they'll  never 
make  republicans!'  'And  I  must  say,'  added  the  Admiral, 
as  they  strolled  out  of  the  shade  up  the  battery  steps,  'little  as 
I  know  of  Latin,  what  this  Mr.  Brown  used  did  seem  to  ma 
fearfully  bad !' 

"  'And  no  wonder !'  thought  I,  from  a  Yankee  schoolmaster 
as  I  had  found  my  late  shipmate  was,  before  he  thought  of 
travelling;  but  the  valuable  Daniel  turning  his  hand  to  help 
out  some  communication  or  other,  no  doubt,  with  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  in  St.  Helena,  took  me  at  first  as  so  queer  an 
affair,  that  I  did  n't  know  whether  to  laugh  at  him  or  admire^ 


286  THE  GREEN  HAND 

his  Yankee  coolness,  when  he  ran  such  risks.  As  for  the 
feasibleness  of  actually  getting  the  prisoner  clear  out  of 
the  island,  our  cruising  on  guard  was  enough  to  show  me  it 
would  be  little  short  of  a  miracle ;  yet  I  could  n't  help  think- 
ing they  meant  to  try  it;  and  in  case  of  a  dark  night,  which 
the  south-easter  was  very  likely  to  bring,  if  it  shifted  or 
freshened  a  little,  why,  I  knew  you  need  n't  call  anything  im- 
possible that  a  cool  head  and  a  bold  heart  had  to  do  with,  pro- 
vided only  they  could  get  their  plans  laid  inside  and  out  so  as 
to  tally.  The  more  eager  I  got  for  next  day,  when  it  would 
be  easy  enough  for  any  of  us  to  go  up  inland  after  Lord 
Frederick,  as  far  as  Hut's  Gate  at  least.  Meantime  the  first 
lieutenant  and  I  walked  up  together  to  where  the  little  town 
broke  into  a  sort  of  suburb  of  fancy  cottages,  with  verandas 
and  green  Venetians  in  bungalow  style,  scattered  to  both  sides 
of  the  rock  amongst  little  grass  plots  and  garden  patches — 
every  foot  of  ground  made  use  of.  And  a  perfect  gush  of 
flowers  and  leaves  it  was,  clustering  over  the  tiles  of  the  low 
roofs,  while  you  saw  through  a  thicket  of  poplars  and  plan- 
tains right  into  the  back  of  the  gully,  with  a  ridge  of  black 
rock  closing  it  fair  up,  and  Side  Path,  as  they  call  the  road 
to  windward,  winding  overhead  along  the  crag  behind  the 
houses,  out  of  sight  round  a  mass  of  cliffs.  Every  here  and 
there,  a  runlet  of  water  came  trickling  down  from  above  the 
trees  to  water  their  roots;  you  saw  the  mice  in  hundreds 
scampering  in  and  out  of  holes  in  the  dry  stone,  with  now 
and  then  a  big  ugly  rat  that  turned  round  to  face  you,  being 
no  doubt  fine  game  to  the  St.  Helena  people,  ill  off  as  they  all 
seemed  for  something  to  do — except  the  Chinese  with  their 
huge  hats,  hoeing  away  under  almost  every  tree  one  saw,  and 
Yamstoek  fishermen  to  be  seen  bobbing  for  mullet  outside  the 
ships,  in  a  blaze  of  light  sufficient  to  bake  any  heads  but  their 
own.  Every  cottage  had  seven  or  eight  parrots  in  it,  appar- 
ently; a  cockatoo  on  a  stand  by  the  door,  or  a  monkey  up  in 
a  box — not  to  speak  of  canaries  in  the  window,  and  white 
goats  feeding  about  with  bells  round  their  necks:  so  you  may 
suppose  what  a  jabbering,  screaming,  whistling,  and  tinkling 
there  was  up  the  whole  hollow,  added  to  no  end  of  children 
and  young  ladies  making  the  most  of  the  shade  as  it  got  near 
nightfall — and  all  that  were  out  of  doors  came  flocking  down 
Side  Path. 

"Both  of  us  having  leave  ashore  that  night,  for  a  ball  in 
one  of  these  same  little  bungalows  near  the  head  of  the 
valley,  't  was  no  use  to  think  of  a  bed,  and  as  little  to  expect 
getting  off  to  the  ship,  which  none  could  do  after  gunfire.  For 


A  SEA  STORY  287 

that  matter,  I  dare  say  there  might  bo  twenty  such  parties, 
full  of  young  reefers  and  homeward-bound  old  East  Indians, 
keeping  it  up  as  long  as  might  be,  because  they  had  nowhere 
to  sleep.  The  young  lady  of  the  house  we  were  in  was  one  of 
the  St.  Helena  beauties,  called  'The  Rosebud,'  from  her  color. 
A  lovely  creature  she  was,  certainly,  as  it  was  plain  our 
'Hebe's'  first  lieutenant  thought,  with  several  more  to  boot: 
every  sight  of  her  figure  gliding  about  through  the  rest,  the 
white  muslin  floating  round  her  like  haze,  different  as  her 
face  was,  made  one  think  of  the  'SeringapatamV  deck  at  sea, 
with  the  men  walking  the  forecastle  in  the  middle  watch,  and 
the  poop  quiet  over  the  Judge's  cabins. 

"Two  or  three  times  I  had  fancied  for  a  moment  that,  if 
one  had  somewhat  stirring  to  busy  himself  with,  why,  he 
might  so  far  forget  what  was  no  doubt  likely  to  interfere 
pretty  much  with  a  profession  like  my  own ;  and  so  it  might 
have  been,  perhaps,  had  I  only  seen  her  ashore ;  whereas  now, 
whether  it  was  ashore  or  afloat,  by  Jove!  everything  called 
her  somehow  to  mind.  The  truth  is,  I  defy  you  to  get  rid 
very  easily  of  the  thought  about  one  you  've  sailed  in  the 
same  ship  with,  be  it  girl  or  woman :  the  same  bottom  betwixt 
you  and  the  water,  the  same  breeze  blowing  your  pilot-coat  in 
the  watch  on  deck  that  ripples  past  her  ear  below,  and 
the  self-same  dangers  to  strive  against !  At  a  break  in  the 
dance  I  went  out  of  the  dancing-room  into  the  veranda, 
where  the  cool  of  the  air  among  the  honeysuckle-flowers  and 
creepers  was  delightful  to  feel;  though  it  was  quite  dark  in 
the  valley,  and  you  could  n't  make  out  anything  but  the 
solemn  black-blue  sky  full  of  stars  above  you,  between 
the  two  cliffs;  or  right  out,  where  the  stretch  of  sea, 
widening  to  the  horizon,  looked  almost  white  through  the 
mouth  of  the  valley  over  the  house  roofs  below ;  one  heard  the 
small  surf  plashing  low  and  slow  into  the  little  bay,  with  the 
boats  dipping  at  their  moorings,  but  I  never  saw  sea  look  so 
lonely.  Then  up  at  the  head  of  the  gully  one  could  mark 
the  steep  black  crag  that  shut  it  up,  glooming  quiet  and  large 
against  a  gleam  from  one  of  the  clusters  of  stars;  the  sight 
of  it  was  awful,  I  did  n't  know  well  why,  unless  by  compari- 
son with  the  lively  scene  inside,  not  to  say  with  one's  own 
whole  life  afloat,  as  well  as  the  wishes  one  had  at  heart. 
'T  was  pretty  late,  but  I  heard  the  music  strike  up  again  in 
the  room,  and  was  going  back  again,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I 
thought  the  strangest  sound  that  ever  came  to  one's  ears 
went  sweeping  round  and  round  far  above  the  island,  more 
like  the  flutter  of  a  sail  miles  wide  than  aught  else  I  can 


288  THE  GREEN  HAND 

fancy;  then  a  rush  of  something  like  those  same  blasts  of 
wind  I  was  pretty  well  used  to  by  this  time — but  wind  it  was 
not — growing  in  half  a  minute  to  a  rumbling  clatter,  and 
then  to  a  smothered  roar,  as  if  something  more  than  mortal 
shot  from  inland  down  through  the  valley,  and  passed  out  by 
its  mouth  into  the  open  sea  at  once.  I  scarce  felt  the  ground 
heave  under  me,  though  I  thought  I  saw  the  black  head  of 
the  ravine  lift  against  the  stars — one  terrible  plunge  of  the 
sea  down  at  the  quays  and  batteries,  then  everything  was  still 
again ;  but  the  whole  dancing-party  came  rushing  out  in  con- 
fusion at  my  back,  the  ladies  shrieking,  the  men  looking  up 
into  the  sky,  or  at  the  cliffs  on  both  sides;  the  British  flag, 
over  the  fort  on  Ladder  Hill,  blowing  out  steadily  to  a  stiff 
breeze  aloft.  It  was  n't  for  some  time,  in  fact,  that  they 
picked  up  courage  again  to  say  it  had  been  an  earthquake. 
However,  the  ball  was  over,  and,  as  soon  as  matters  could  be 
set  to  rights,  it  was  nothing  but  questions  whether  it  had 
aught  to  do  with  him  up  at  Longwood,  or  had  n't  been  an 
attempt  to  blow  up  the  island — some  of  the  officers  being  so 
much  taken  aback  at  first,  that  they  fancied  the  French  had 
come. 

"At  last,  however,  we,  who  had  nothing  else  for  it,  got 
stowed  away  on  sofas  or  otherwise  about  the  dancing-room; 
for  my  part,  I  woke  up  just  early  enough  to  see  the  high 
head  of  the  valley  coming  out  as  clearly  as  before  against  the 
morning  light,  and  the  water  glancing  blue  out  miles  away 
beyond  the  knot  of  ships  in  the  opening.  The  news  was  only 
that  Napoleon  was  safe,  having  been  in  his  bed  at  the  time, 
where  he  lay  thinking  one  of  the  frigates  had  blown  up,  they 
said.  Not  a  word  of  his  that  got  wind  but  the  people  in 
James  Town  made  it  their  day's  text — in  the  want  of  which 
they  'd  even  gossip  about  the  coat  he  wore  that  morning — -till 
you  'd  have  said  the  whole  nest  of  them,  soldiers  and  all,  lay 
under  his  shadow  as  the  town  did  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  just 
ready  to  vanish  as  soon  as  he  went  down.  The  Longwood 
doctor  had  told  some  one  in  the  Jew  Solomon's  toy-shop,  by 
the  forenoon,  that  Bonaparte  could  n't  sleep  that  night  for 
making  some  calculations  about  a  great  battle  he  had  fought, 
when  he  counted  three  separate  shocks  of  the  thing,  and 
noticed  it  was  luckily  right  up  and  down,  or  else  James 
Town  would  have  been  buried  under  tons  of  rock.  The 
doctor  had  mentioned  besides  that  there  was  twice  an  earth- 
quake before  in  the  island,  in  former  times ;  but  it  did  n't 
need  some  of  the  townspeople's  looks  to  tell  you  they  'd  be 
afraid  many  a  night  after,  lest  the  French  Emperor  should 


A  SEA  STORY  289 

wake  up  thinking  of  his  battles ;  while,  as  for  myself,  I  must 
say  the  notion  stuck  to  me  some  time,  along  with  my  own 
ideas  at  that  exact  moment ;  at  any  rate,  not  for  worlds  would 
I  have  lived  long  ashore  in.  St,  Helena, 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"MR.  NEWLAND  (the  first  lieutenant)  and  I  set  out  early  in 
the  day,  accordingly,  with  a  couple  of  the  'Hebe's'  midship- 
men, mounted  on  as  many  of  the  little  island  ponies,  to  go  up 
inland  for  a  cruise  about  the  hills.  You  take  Side  Path  along 
the  crags,  with  a  wall  betwixt  the  hard  track  and  the  gulf 
below,  till  you  lose  sight  of  James  Town  like  a  cluster  of 
children's  toy -houses  under  you,  and  turn  up  above  a  sloping 
hollow  full  of  green  trees  and  tropical-like  flowering  shrubs, 
round  a  pretty  cottage  called  The  Briars — where  one  begins 
to  have  a  notion,  however,  of  the  bare  blocks,  the  red  bluffs, 
and  the  sharp  peaks  standing  up  higher  and  higher  round  the 
shell  of  the  island.  Then  you  had  another  rise  of  it  to  climb, 
on  which  you  caught  sight  of  James  Town  and  the  harbor 
again,  even  smaller  than  before,  and  saw  nothing  before  your 
beast's  head  but  a  desert  of  stony  ground,  running  hither 
and  thither  into  wild  staring  clefts,  grim  ravines,  and 
rocks  of  every  size  tumbled  over  each  other  like  figures  of 
ogres  and  giants  in  hard  fight.  After  two  or  three  miles  of 
all  this,  we  came  in  view  of  Longwood  Hill,  lying  green  on  a 
level  to  north  and  east,  and  clipping  to  windward  against 
the  sea  beyond;  all  round  it  elsewhere  was  the  thick  red 
crust  of  the  island,  rising  in  ragged  points  and  sharp  spires 
• — the  greenish  sugarloaf  of  Diana's  Peak  shooting  in  the 
middle  over  the  high  ridge  that  hid  the  Plantation  House 
side  of  St.  Helena  to  leeward. 

"Between  the  spot  where  we  were  and  Longwood  is  a  huge 
fearful-looking  black  hollow,  called  the  Devil's  Punch-bowl, 
as  round  and  deep  as  a  pitch-pot  for  caulking  all  the  ships  in 
the  world — except  on  a  slope  into  one  corner  of  it,  where  you 
saw  a  couple  of  yellow  cottages  with  gardens  about  them; 
while  every  here  and  there  a  patch  of  grass  began  to  appear, 
a  clump  of  wild  weeds  and  flowers  hanging  off  the  fronts  of 
the  rocks,  or  the  head  of  some  valley  widening  away  out  of 
sight,  with  the  glimpse  of  a  house  amongst  trees,  where  some 
stream  of  water  came  leaping  down  off  the  heights  and 


290  THE  GREEN  HAND 

vanished  in  the  boggy  piece  of  green  below.  From  here  over 
the  brow  of  the  track  it  was  all  like  seeing  into  an  immense 
stone  basin  half-hewn  out,  with  all  the  lumps  and  wrinkles 
left  rising  in  it  and  twisting  every  way  about — the  black 
Devil's  Punch-bowl  for  a  hole  in  the  middle,  where  some 
infernal  liquor  or  other  had  run  through ;  the  soft  bottoms  of 
the  valleys  just  bringing  the  whole  of  it  up  distincter  to  the 
green  over  Longwood  Hill;  while  the  ragged  heights  ran 
round  on  every  side  like  a  rim  with  notches  in  it,  and  Diana's 
Peak  for  a  sort  of  a  handle  that  the  clouds  could  take  hold 
of.  All  this  time  we  had  strained  ourselves  to  get  as  fast  up 
as  possible,  except  once  near  the  Alarm  House,  where  there 
was  a  telegraph  signal-post,  with  a  little  guard-hut  for  the 
soldiers;  but  there  each  turned  round  in  his  saddle,  letting 
out  a  long  breath  the  next  thing  to  a  cry,  and  hcaving-to 
directly,  at  sight  of  the  prospect  behind.  The  Atlantic  lay 
wide  away  round  to  the  horizon  from  the  roads,  glittering 
faint  over  the  ragged  edge  of  the  crags  we  had  mounted 
near  at  hand;  only  the  high  back  of  the  island  shut  out  the 
other  side — save  here  and  there  through  a  deep-notched  gully 
or  two — and  accordingly  you  saw  the  sea  blotched  out  in  that 
quarter  to  the  two  sharp  bright  ends,  clasping  the  dark- 
colored  lump  between  -them,  like  a  mighty  pair  of  arms 
lifting  it  high  to  carry  it  off.  Soon  after,  however,  the  two 
mids  took  it  into  their  wise  heads  the  best  thing  was  to  go 
and  climb  Diana's  Peak,  where  they  meant  to  cut  their  names 
at  the  very  top;  on  which  the  first  lieutenant,  who  was  a 
careful  middle-aged  man,  thought  needful  to  go  with  them, 
lest  they  got  into  mischief;  for  my  part  I  preferred  the 
chance  of  coming  across  the  mysterious  Yankee  and  his  com- 
rade, as  I  fancied  not  unlikely,  or,  what  was  less  to  be  looked 
for,  a  sight  of  Bonaparte  himself. 

"Accordingly,  we  had  parted  company,  and  I  was  hold- 
ing single-handed  round  one  side  of  the  Devil's  Punch-bowl, 
when  I  heard  a  clatter  of  horse-hoofs  on  the  road,  and  saw 
the  Admiral  and  Lord  Frederick  riding  quickly  past  on 
the  opposite  side,  on  their  way  to  Longwood — which,  curi- 
ously enough,  was  half-covered  with  mist  at  the  time,  driving 
down  from  the  higher  hills,  apparently  before  a  regular  gale, 
or  rather  some  kind  of  a  whirlwind.  In  fact,  I  learned  after, 
that  such  was  often  the  case,  the  climate  up  there  being  quite 
different  from  below,  where  they  never  feel  a  gale  from  one 
year's  end  to  the  other.  In  the  next  hollow  I  got  into,  it  was 
hot  and  still  as  it  would  have  been  in  India,  the  blackberry- 
trailers  and  wild  aloes  growing  quite  thick,  mixed  with 


A  SEA  STORY 


291 


prickly-pear  bushes,  willows,  gumwood,  and  an  African 
palm  or  two;  though  from  the  look  of  the  sea,  I  could  notice 
the  south-east  trade  had  freshened  below,  promising  to  blow  a 
good  deal  stronger  that  night  than  ordinary,  and  to  shift  a 
little  round. 

"Suddenly  the  fog  began  to  clear  by  degrees  from  over 
Ixmgwood,  till  it  was  fairly  before  me,  nearer  than  I  thought ; 
and  just  as  I  rode  up  a  rising  ground,  out  came  the  roof  of  a 
house  on  the  slope  amongst  some  trees,  glittering  wet  as  if 
the  sun  laid  a  finger  on  it;  with  a  low  bluish-colored  stretch 
of  wood  farther  off,  bringing  out  the  white  tents  of  the 
soldiers'  camp  pitched  about  the  edge  of  it.  Nearly  to  wind- 
ward there  was  one  sail  in  sight  on  the  horizon,  over  an 
opening  in  the  rocks  beyond  Longwood  House,  that  seemingly 
let  down  toward  the  coast;  however  I  just  glanced  back  to 
notice  the  telegraph  on  the  signal-post  at  work,  signalling  to 
the  'Podargus'  in  the  offing,  and  next  minute  Hut's  Gate  was 
right  ahead  of  me,  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off — a  long-shaped 
bungalow  of  a  cottage,  inside  of  a  wall  with  a  gate  in  it, 
where  I  knew  I  needn't  try  farther,  unless  I  wanted  the 
sentries  to  take  me  under  arrest.  Betwixt  me  and  it,  however, 
in  the  low  ground,  was  a  party  of  man-o'-war's-men  under 
charge  of  a  midshipman,  carrying  some  timber  and  house- 
furniture  for  Longwood,  as  I  remembered,  from  seeing  them 
come  ashore  from  the  'Podargus'  that  morning;  so  I  stood 
over,  to  give  my  late  shipmates  a  hail.  But  the  moment  I 
got  up  with  them,  it  struck  me  not  a  little,  as  things  stood,  to 
find  three  of  the  four  blacks  we  had  taken  aboard  from  that 
said  burned  barque  of  the  American  mate's,  trudging  pa- 
tiently enough  under  the  heaviest  loads  of  the  gang.  Jetty- 
black,  savage-looking  fellows  they  were,  as  strong  as  horses, 
and  reminded  me  more  of  our  wild  friends  in  the  Nouries 
River,  than  of  States  niggers;  still,  what  caught  my  notice 
most  was  n't  so  much  their  being  there  at  all,  as  the  want  of 
the  fourth  one,  and  where  he  might  be.  I  don't  know  yet 
how  this  trifling  bit  of  a  puzzle  got  hold  on  me,  but  it  was  the 
sole  thing  that  kept  me  from  what  might  have  turned  a 
scrape  to  myself — namelypassing  myself  in  as  anofficerof  the 
party ;  which  was  easy  enough  at  the  time,  and  the  tars  would 
have  entered  into  the  frolic  as  boon  as  I  started  it.  On 
second  thoughts,  nevertheless,  I  bade  them  good-day,  steering 
my  animal  away  round  the  slant  of  the  ground,  to  see  after  a 
good  perch  as  near  as  possible;  and  I  dare  say  I  was  getting 
within  the  bounds  before  I  knew  it  when  another  sentry  sung 
out  to  me  off  the  heights  to  keep  lower  down,  first  bringing 


292  THE  GREEN  HAND 

his  musket  to  salute  for  my  uniform's  sake,  then  letting  it 
fall  level  with  a  ringing  slap  of  his  palm,  as  much  as  to  say  it 
was  all  the  distinction  I  'd  get  over  plain  clothes. 

"At  this,  of  course,  I  gave  it  up,  with  a  blessing  to  all 
lobster-backs,  and  made  sail  down  to  leeward  again  as  far  as 
the  next  rise,  from  which  there  was  a  full  view  of  the  sea,  at 
any  rate,  though  the  face  of  a  rough  crag  over  behind  me  shut 
out  Longwood  House  altogether.  Here  I  had  to  get  fairly  off 
the  saddle — rather  sore,  I  must  say,  with  riding  up  St. 
Helena  roads  after  so  many  weeks  at  sea — and  flung  myself 
down  on  the  grass,  with  little  enough  fear  of  the  hungry  little 
beast  getting  far  adrift.  This  said  crag,  by  the  way,  drew  my 
eye  to  it  by  the  queer  colors  it  showed,  white,  blue,  gray,  and 
bright  red  in  the  hot  sunlight ;  and  being  too  far  off  to  make 
out  clearly,  I  slung  off  the  ship's  glass  I  had  across  my  back, 
just  to  overhaul  it  better.  The  hue  of  it  was  to  be  seen 
running  all  down  the  deep  rift  between,  that  seemingly 
wound  away  into  some  glen  toward  the  coast ;  while  the  lot  of 
plants  and  trailers  half  covering  the  steep  front  of  it,  would 
no  doubt,  I  thought,  have  delighted  my  old  friend  the 
Yankee,  if  he  was  the  botanizing  gentleman  in  question. 

"By  this  time  it  was  a  lovely  afternoon  far  and  wide  to 
Diana's  Peak,  the  sky  glowing  clearer  deep-blue  at  that  height 
than  you  'd  have  thought  sky  could  do,  even  in  the  tropics — 
the  very  peaks  of  bare  red  rock  being  softened  into  a  purple 
tint,  far  off  round  you.  •  One  saw  into  the  rough  bottom  of  the 
huge  Devil's  Punch-bowl,  and  far  through  without  a  shadow 
down  the  green  patches  in  the  little  valleys,  and  over  Dead- 
wood  Camp — there  was  nothing,  as  it  were,  between  the  grass, 
the  ground,  the  stones,  and  leaves,  and  the  empty  hollow  of 
the  air;  while  the  sea  spread  far  round  underneath,  of  a 
softer  blue  than  the  sky  over  you.  You  'd  have  thought  all 
the  world  was  shrunk  into  St.  Helena,  with  the  Atlantic  lying 
three  quarters  round  it  in  one's  sight,  like  the  horns  of  the 
bright  new  moon  round  the  dim  old  one;  which  St.  Helena 
pretty  much  resembled,  if  what  the  star-gazers  say  of  its 
surface  be  true,  all  peaks  and  dry  hollows — if,  indeed,  you 
were  n't  lifting  up  out  of  the  world,  so  to  speak,  when  one 
looked  through  his  fingers  right  into  the  keen  blue  overhead ! 

"If  I  lived  a  thousand  years,  I  could  n't  tell  half  what  I 
felt  lying  there;  but,  as  you  may  imagine,  it  had  somewhat 
in  it  of  the  late  European  war  by  land  and  sea.  Not  that 
I  could  have  said  so  at  the  time,  but  rather  a  sort  of  half- 
doze,  such  as  I  've  known  one  to  have  when  a  schoolboy, 
lying  on  the  green  grass  the  same  way,  with  one's  face 


A  SEA  STORY  293 

turned  up  into  the  hot  summer  heavens:  half  of  it  flying 
glimpses,  as  it  were,  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  battles  we 
used  to  hear  of  when  we  were  children — then  the  fears  about 
the  invasion,  with  the  Channel  full  of  British  fleets,  and 
Dover  Cliffs — Trafalgar  and  Nelson's  death,  and  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  just  after  we  heard  he  had  got  out  of  Elba.  In  the 
terrible  flash  of  the  thing  altogether,  one  almost  fancied  them 
all  gone  like  smoke;  and  fora  moment  I  thought  I  was  falling 
away  off,  down  into  the  wide  sky,  so  up  I  started  to  sit.  From, 
that,  suddenly  I  took  to  guessing  and  puzzling  closely  again 
how  I  should  go  to  work  myself,  if  I  were  the  strange  French- 
man I  saw  in  the  brig  at  sea,  and  wanted  to  manage  Napo- 
leon's escape  out  of  St.  Helena.  And  first,  there  was  how  to 
get  into  the  island  and  put  him  up  to  the  scheme — why,  sure 
enough,  I  could  n't  have  laid  it  down  better  than  they  seemed 
to  have  done  all  along:  what  could  one  do  but  just  dodge 
about  that  latitude  under  all  sorts  of  false  rig,  then  catch 
hold  of  somebody  fit  to  cover  one's  landing  ?  No  Englishman 
would  do  it,  and  no  foreigner  but  would  set  Sir  Hudson  Lowe 
on  his  guard  in  a  moment.  Next  we  should  have  to  get  put  on 
the  island — and  really  a  neat  enough  plan  it  was  to  dog  one  of 
the  very  cruisers  themselves,  knock  up  a  mess  of  planks  and 
spars  in  the  night-time,  set  them  all  ablaze  with  tar,  and 
pretend  we  were  fresh  from  a  craft  on  fire;  when  even  Cap- 
tain Wallis  of  the  'Podargus,'  as  it  happened,  was  too  much 
of  a  British  seaman  not  to  carry  us  straight  to  St.  Helena! 
Again,  I  must  say  it  was  a  touch  beyond  me — but  to  hit 
the  Governor's  notion  of  a  hobby,  and  go  picking  up  plants 
round  Longwood,  was  a  likely  enough  way  to  get  speech  of 
the  prisoner,,  or  at  least  let  him  see  one  was  there ! 

"How  should  I  set  about  carrying  him  off  to  the  coast, 
though?  That  was  the  prime  matter.  Seeing  that  even  if 
the  schooner — which  was  no  doubt  hovering  out  of  sight — 
were  to  make  a  bold  dash  for  the  land  with  the  trade-wind, 
in  a  night  eleven  hours  long — there  were  sentries  close 
round  Longwood  from  sunset,  the  starlight  shining  mostly 
always  in  the  want  of  a  moon;  and  at  any  rate  there  was 
rock  and  gully  enough,  betwixt  here  and  the  coast,  to  try 
the  surest  foot  aboard  tho  'Hebe,'  let  alone  an  Emperor. 
With  plenty  of  woods  for  a  cover,  one  might  steal  up  close  to 
Longwood,  but  the  bare  rocks  showed  you  off  to  be  made  a 
mark  of.  Whew!  but  why  were  those  same  blacks  on  the 
island?  I  thought;  just  strip  them  stark-naked,  and  let  them 
lie  in  the  Devil's  Punch-bowl,  or  somewhere,  beyond  military 
hours,  when  I  warrant  me  they  might  slip  up,  gully  by  gully, 


294  THE  GREEN  HAND 

to  the  very  sentries'  backs !  Their  color  would  n't  show 
them,  and  savages  as  they  seemed,  could  n't  they  settle  as 
many  sentries  as  they  needed,  creep  into  the  very  bedcham- 
ber where  Bonaparte  slept,  and  manhandle  him  bodily  away 
down  through  some  of  the  nearest  hollows,  before  anyone 
was  the  wiser?  The  point  that  still  bothered  me  was,  why 
the  fourth  of  the  blacks  was  wanting  at  present,  unless  he 
had  his  part  to  play  elsewhere.  If  it  was  chance,  then  the 
whole  might  be  a  notion  of  mine,  which  I  knew  I  was  apt 
to  have  sometimes.  If  I  could  only  make  out  the  fourth 
black,  so  as  to  tally  with  the  scheme,  on  the  other  hand, 
then  I  thought  it  was  all  sure;  but  of  course  this  quite 
pawled  me,  and  I  gave  it  up,  to  work  out  my  fancy  case 
by  providing  signals  betwixt  us  plotters  inside  and  the 
schooner  out  of  sight  from  the  telegraphs. 

"There  was  no  use  for  her  to  run  in  and  take  the  risk, 
without  good  luck  having  turned  up  on  the  island;  yet  any 
sign  she  could  profit  by  must  be  both  sufficient  to  reach 
sixty  miles  or  so,  and  hidden  enough  not  to  alarm  the  tele- 
graphs or  the  cruisers.  Here  was  a  worse  puzzle  than  all, 
and  I  only  guessed  at  it  for  my  own  satisfaction — as  a 
fellow  can't  help  doing  when  he  hears  a  question  he  can't 
answer — till  my  eye  lighted  on  Diana's  Peak,  near  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  There  it  was,  by  Jove !  'T  was 
quite  clear  at  the  time;  but  by  nightfall  there  was  alv/ays 
more  or  less  cloud  near  the  top;  and  if  you  set  a  fire  on 
the  very  peak,  't  would  only  be  seen  leagues  off :  a  notion 
that  brought  to  mind  a  similar  thing  which  I  told  you  saved 
the  Indiaman  from  a  lee-shore  one  night  on  the  African 
coast — and  again,  by  George!  I  saw  that  must  have  been 
meant  at  first  by  the  negroes  as  a  smoke  to  help  the  French 
brig  easier  in !  Putting  that  and  that  together,  why  it  struck 
me  at  once  what  the  fourth  black's  errand  might  be — 
namely,  to  watch  for  the  schooner,  and  kindle  his  signal  as 
soon  as  he  could  n't  see  the  island  for  mist,  I  was  sure  of 
it;  and  as  for  a  dark  night  coming  on  at  sea,  the  freshening 
of  the  breeze  there  promised  nothing  more  likely ;  a  bright 
white  haze  was  softening  out  the  horizon  already,  and  here 
and  there  the  egg  of  a  cloud  could  be  seen  to  break  off  the 
sky  to  windward,  all  of  which  would  be  better  known  afloat 
than  here. 

"The  truth  was,  I  was  on  the  point  of  tripping  my  anchor 
to  hurry  down  and  get  aboard  again,  but,  on  standing  up, 
the  head  of  a  peak  fell  below  the  sail  I  had  noticed  in  the 
distance,  and,  seeing  she  loomed  large  on  the  stretch  of 


A  SEA  STORY  295. 

water,  I  pretty  soon  found  she  must  be  a  ship  of  the  line. 
The  telegraph  over  the  Alarm  House  was  hard  at  work  again, 
so  I  e'en  took  down  my  glass  and  cleaned  it  to  have  a 
better  view,  during  which  I  caught  sight,  for  a  minute,  of 
some  soldier-officer  or  other  on  horseback,  with  a  mounted 
red-coat  behind  him,  riding  hastily  up  the  gully  a  good  bit 
from  my  back,  till  they  were  round  the  red  piece  of  crag, 
turning  at  times  as  if  to  watch  the  vessel.  Though  I 
couldn't  have  a  better  spy  at  him  for  want  of  my  glass,  I 
had  no  doubt  he  was  the  Governor  himself,  for  the  sentries 
in  the  distance  took  no  note  of  him. 

"There  was  nobody  else  visible  at  the  time,  and  the  said 
cliff  stood  fair  up  like  a  lookout  place,  so  as  to  shut  them 
out  as  they  went  higher.  Once  or  twice  after,  I  fancied  I 
made  out  a  man's  head  or  two  lower  down  the  gully  than 
the  cliff  was,  which,  it  occurred  to  me,  might  possibly  be 
the  botanists,  as  they  called  themselves,  busy  finding  out 
how  long  St.  Helena  had  been  an  island;  however,  I  soon 
turned  the  glass  before  me  upon  the  ship,  by  this  time  right 
opposite  the  ragged  opening  of  Prosperous  Bay,  and  heading 
well  up  about  fourteen  miles  or  so  off  the  coast,  as  I 
reckoned,  to  make  James  Town  harbor.  The  moment  I  had 
the  sight  of  the  glass  right  for  her — though  you  'd  have' 
thought  she  stood  still  on  the  smooth  soft  blue  water — I  could 
see  her  whole  beam  rise  off  the  swells  before  me,  from  the 
dark  side  and  white  band,  checkered  with  a  double  row  of 
ports,  to  the  hamper  of  her  lofty  spars,  and  the  sails  braced 
slant  to  the  breeze,  the  foam  gleaming  under  her  high  bows, 
and  her  wake  running  aft  in  the  heave  of  the  sea.  She 
was  evidently  a  seventy-four:  I  fancied  I  could  make  out 
her  men's  faces  peering  over  the  yards  toward  the  island, 
as  they  thought  of  'Boneypart';  a  white  rear-admiral's  flag 
was  at  the  mizzen-royal-masthead,  leaving  no  doubt  she 
was  the  'Conqueror'  at  last,  with  Admiral  Plampin,  and,  in 
a  day  or  two  at  farthest,  the  'Hebe'  would  be  bound  for  India. 

"I  had  just  looked  over  my  shoulder  toward  Longwood, 
letting  the  'Conqueror'  sink  back  again  into  a  thing  no  bigger 
than  a  model  on  a  mantlepiece,  when,  all  at  once,  I  saw 
some  one  standing  near  the  brow  of  the  cliff  I  mentioned, 
apparently  watching  the  vessel,  with  a  long  glass  at  his  eye, 
like  myself.  'T  was  farther  than  I  could  see  to  make  out 
anything,  save  so  much;  and,  ere  I  had  screwed  the  glass  for 
such  a  near  sight,  there  were  seven  or  eight  figures  more  ap- 
pearing half  over  the  slope  behind;  while  my  hand  shook 
so  much  with  holding  the  glass  so  long,  that  at  first  I 


296  THE  GREEN  HAND 

brought  it  to  bear  full  on  the  cracks  and  blocks  in  the  front  of 
the  crag,  with  the  large  green  leaves  and  trailers  on  it  flicker- 
ing idly  with  the  sunlight  against  rny  eyes,  till  I  could  have 
seen  the  spiders  inside,  I  dare  say.  Next  I  held  it  too  high, 
where  the  Admiral  and  Lord  Frederick  were  standing  by 
their  horses,  a  good  way  back;  the  Governor,  as  I  supposed, 
sitting  on  his,  and  two  or  three  others  along  the  rise.  At 
length,  what  with  kneeling  down  to  rest  it  on  one  knee,  I  had 
the  glass  steadily  fixed  on  the  brow  of  the  rocks,  where  I 
plainly  saw  a  tall,  dark-whiskered  man,  in  a  rich  French 
uniform,  gazing  to  seaward — I  knew  him  I  sought  too  well 
by  pictures,  however,  not  to  be  sadly  galled. 

"Suddenly  a  figure  came  slowly  down  from  before  the 
rest,  with  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and  his  head  a  little 
drooped.  The  officer  at  once  lowered  the  telescope  and  held 
it  to  him,  stepping  upward,  as  if  to  leave  him  alone — what 
dress  he  had  on  I  scarce  noticed;  but  there  he  was  stand- 
ing, single,  in  the  round  bright  field  of  the  glass  I  had 
hold  of  like  a  vise — his  head  raised,  his  hands  hiding  his 
face,  as  he  kept  the  telescope  fixed  fair  in  front  of  me — only 
I  saw  the  smooth,  broad  round  of  his  chin.  I  knew,  as  if 
I  'd  seen  him  in  the  Tuileries  at  Paris,  or  known  him  by 
sight  since  I  was  a  boy — I  knew  it  was  Napoleon! 

"During  that  minute  the  rest  of  them  were  out  of  sight, 
so  far  as  the  glass  went — you  'd  have  supposed  there  was 
no  one  there  but  himself,  as  still  as  a  figure  in  iron,  watch- 
ing the  same  thing,  no  doubt,  as  I  'd  done  myself  five 
minutes  before,  where  the  noble  seventy-four  was  beating 
slowly  to  windward.  When  I  did  glance  to  the  knot  of 
officers  twenty  yards  back,  't  was  as  if  one  saw  a  ring  of 
his  generals  waiting  respectfully  while  he  eyed  some-  field 
of  battle  or  other,  with  his  army  at  the  back  of  the  hill; 
but  next  moment  the  telescope  fell  in  his  hands,  and  his 
face,  as  pale  as  death,  with  his  lip  firm  under  it,  seemed 
near  enough  for  me  to  touch  it — his  eyes  shot  stern  into  me 
from  below  his  wide  white  forehead,  and  I  started,  dropping 
my  glass  in  turn.  That  instant  the  whole  wild  lump  of 
St.  Helena,  with  its  ragged  brim,  the  clear  blue  sky  and  the 
sea,  swung  round  about  the  dwindled  figures  above  the  crag, 
till  they  were  nothing  but  so  many  people  together  against 
the  slope  beyond. 

"  'T  was  a  strange  scene  to  witness,  let  me  tell  you ;  never 
can  I  forget  the  sightless,  thinking  sort  of  gaze  from  that 
head  of  his,  after  the  telescope  sank  from  his  eye,  when  the 


A  SEA  STORY  297 

'Conqueror'  must  have  shot  back  with  all  her  stately  ham- 
per into  the  floor  of  the  Atlantic  again! 

"Once  more  I  brought  my  spyglass  to  bear  on  the  place 
where  he  had  been,  and  was  almost  on  the  point  of  calling  out 
to  warn  him  off  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  forgetting  the  dis- 
tance I  was  away.  Napoleon  had  stepped,  with  one  foot 
before  him,  on  the  very  brink,,  his  two  hands  hanging  loose 
by  his  side,  with  the  glass  in  one  of  them,  till  the  shadow  of 
his  small  black  cocked  hat  covered  the  hollows  of  his  eyes, 
and  he  stood,  as  it  were,  looking  down  past  the  face  of  the 
precipice.  What  he  thought  of,  no  mortal  tongue  can  say, 
whether  he  was  master  at  the  time  over  a  wilder  battle 
than  any  he  'd  ever  fought — but  just  then,  what  was  the  sur- 
prise it  gave  me  to  see  the  head  of  a  man,  with  a  red  tas- 
selled  cap  on  it,  raised  through  amongst  the  ivy  from  below, 
while  he  seemed  to  have  his  feet  on  the  cracks  and  juts 
of  the  rock,  hoisting  himself  by  one  hand  round  the  tangled 
roots,  till  no  doubt  he  must  have  looked  right  aloft  into  the 
French  Emperor's  face;  and  perhaps  he  whispered  something 
— though,  for  my  part,  it  was  all  dumb  show  to  me,  where 
I  knelt  peering  into  the  glass.  I  saw  even  him  start  at  the 
suddenness  of  the  thing — he  raised  his  head  upright,  still 
glancing  down  over  the  front  of  the  crag,  with  the  spread 
hand  lifted,  and  the  side  of  his  face  half  turned  toward 
the  party  within  ear-shot  behind,  where  the  Governor  and 
the  rest  apparently  kept  together  out  of  respect,  no  doubt 
watching  both  Napoleon's  back  and  the  ship  of  war  far 
beyond.  The  keen  sunlight  on  the  spot  brought  out  every 
motion  of  the  two  in  front — the  one  so  full  in  my  view, 
that  I  could  mark  his  look  settle  again  on  the  other  below, 
his  firm  lips  parting  and  his  hand  out  before  him,  like 
a  man  seeing  a  spirit  he  knew;  while  a  bunch  of  leaves 
on  the  end  of  a  wand  came  stealing  up  from  the  stranger's 
post  to  Napoleon's  very  fingers. 

"The  head  of  the  man  on  the  cliff  turned  round  seaward 
for  one  moment,  ticklish  as  his  footing  must  have  been; 
then  he  looked  back,  pointing  with  his  loose  hand  to  the 
horizon — there  was  one  minute  between  them  without  a 
motion,  seemingly — the  captive  Emperor's  chin  was  sunk 
on  his  breast,  though  you'd  have  said  his  eyes  glanced  up 
out  of  the  shadow  on  his  forehead;  and  the  stranger's  red 
cap  hung  like  a  bit  of  bright-colored  cliff,  under  his  two 
hands  holding  amongst  the  leaves.  Then  I  saw  Napoleon 
lift  his  hand  calmly,  he  gave  a  sign  with  it — it  might  have 
been  refusing,  it  might  have  been  agreeing,  or  it  might  be 


298  THE  GREEN  HAND 

farewell,  I  never  expect  to  know;  but  he  folded  his  arms 
across  his  breast,  with  the  bunch  of  leaves  in  his  fingers, 
and  stepped  slowly  back  from  the  brink  towards  the  officers. 
1  was  watching  the  stranger  below  it,  as  he  swung  there 
for  a  second  or  two,  in  a  way  like  to  let  him  go  dash  to 
the  bottom;  his  face  sluing  wildly  seaward  again.  Short 
though  the  glance  I  had  of  him  was — his  features  set  hard 
in  some  bitter  feeling  or  other,  his  dress  different,  too, 
besides  the  moustache  being  off,  and  his  complexion  no  doubt 
purposely  darkened — it  served  to  prove  what  I  'd  suspected : 
he  was  no  other  than  the  Frenchman  I  had  seen  in  the 
brig,  and,  mad  or  sensible,  the  very  look  I  caught  was 
more  like  that  he  faced  the  thunder-squall  with  than  aught 
besides.  Directly  after,  he  was  letting  himself  carefully 
down  with  his  back  to  my  glass;  the  party  above  was  mov- 
ing off  over  the  brow  of  the  crags,  and  the  Governor  riding 
round  apparently  to  come  once  more  down  the  hollow  be- 
tween us. 

"In  fact,  the  seventy-four  had  stood  by  this  time  so  far 
in  that  the  peaks  in  the  distance  shut  her  out;  but  I  ran 
the  glass  carefully  along  the  whole  horizon  in  my  view,  for 
signs  of  the  schooner.  The  haze  was  too  bright,  however,  to 
make  sure  either  way;  though,  dead  to  windward,  there  v/ere 
some  streaks  of  cloud  risen  with  the  breeze,  where  I  once  or 
twice  fancied  I  could  catch  the  gleam  of  a  speck  in  it. 
The  'Podargus'  was  to  be  seen  through  a  notch  in  the  rocks, 
too,  beating  out  in  a  different  direction,  as  if  the  telegraph 
Lad  signalled  her  elsewhere;  after  which  you  heard  the  dull 
rumble  of  the  forts  saluting  the  'Conqueror'  down  at  James 
Town  as  she  came  in;  and  being  late  in  the  afternoon,  it 
was  high  time  for  me  to  crowd  sail  downward,  to  fall  in  with 
my  shipmates. 

"I  was  just  getting  near  the  turn  into  Side  Path,  ac- 
cordingly, after  a  couple  of  mortal  hours'  hard  riding,  and 
once  more  in  sight  of  the  harbor  beneath,  when  the  three  of 
them  overtook  me,  having  managed  to  reach  the  top  of  Diana's 
Peak,  as  they  meant.  The  first  lieutenant  was  full  of 
the  grand  views  on  the  way,  with  the  prospect  of  the  peak, 
where  one  saw  the  sea  all  round  St.  Helena,  like  a  ring, 
and  the  sky  over  you  as  blue  as  blue  water.  'But  what  do 
you  think  we  saw  on  the  top,  Mr.  Collins?'  asked  one  of  the 
urchins  of  me — a  mischievous  imp  he  was  himself,  too, 
pock-marked,  with  hair  like  a  brush,  and  squinted  like  a 
ship's  two  hawse-holes.  'Why,  Mister  Snelling,'  said  I, 
gruffly — for  I  knew  him  pretty  well  already,  and  he  was 


A  SEA  STORY 


299 


rather  a  favorite  with  me  for  his  sharpness,  though  you 
may  suppose  I  was  thinking  of  no  trifles  at  the  moment — 
'why,  the  devil,  perhaps.'  'I  must  say  I  thought  at  first 
it  was  him,  sir/  said  the  reefer,  grinning;  "t  was  a  black 
nigger,  though,  sir,  sitting  right  on  the  very  truck  of  it, 
with  his  hands  on  his  two  knees,  and  we  'd  got  to  shove  him 
off  before  we  could  dig  our  knives  into  it!'  'By  the  Lord 

Harry !'  I  rapped  out,  'the  very  thing  that '  '  'T  was  really 

the  case,  though,  Mr.  Collins,'  said  the  first  lieutenant; 
'and  I  thought  it  curious;  but  there  are  so  many  negroes  in 
the  island.'  'If  you  please,  sir,'  put  in  the  least  of  the  mids, 
'perhaps  they  have  n't  all  of  'em  room  to  meditate,  sir !'  'Or 
sent  to  the  masthead,  eh,  Roscoe?'  said  Snelling.  'Which 
you'll  be,  sirrah,'  broke  in  the  first  lieutenant,  'the  moment 
I  get  aboard,  if  you  don't  keep  a  small  helm.'  We  were 
clattering  down  over  James  Town  by  this  time,  the  sun 
blazing  red  off  the  horizon,  into  it  and  the  doors  of  the 
houses,  and  the  huge  hull  and  spars  of  the  'Conqueror'  al- 
most blocking  up  the  harbor,  as  she  lay  anchored  outside  the 
Jndiaman.  The  evening  gun  fired  as  we  pulled  aboard  the 
'Hebe,'  which  immediately  got  under  way  by  order,  al- 
though Lord  Frederick  was  not  come  down  yet;  but  it 
fell  to  her  turn  that  night  to  supply  a  guard-boat  to  wind- 
ward, and  she  stood  up  under  full  sail  round  Sugarloaf 
Point,  just  as  the  dusk  fell  like  a  shadow  over  the  island. 

"The  'Newcastle's'  boat  was  on  the  leeward  coast  that 
night,  and  one  of  our  cutters  was  getting  ready  to  lower, 
nearly  off  Prosperous  Bay,  to  windward,  while  the  frigate 
herself  would  hold  farther  out  to  sea.  One  of  the  master's 
mates  should  have  taken  the  cutter;  but  after  giving  the 
first  lieutenant  a  few  hints  as  far  as  I  liked  to  go,  I 
proposed  to  go  in  charge  of  her  that  time,  myself — which 
was  laid  to  the  score  of  my  freshness  on  the  station; 
and  the  mate  being  happy  to  get  rid  of  a  tiresome  duty, 
I  got  leave  at  once. 

"The  sharp  midshipman,  Snelling,  took  it  into  his  ugly 
head  to  keep  me  company,  and  away  we  pulled  into  hearing 
of  the  surf.  The  moment  things  took  the  shape  of  fair 
work,  in  fact,  I  lost  all  thoughts  of  a  late  kind.  In  place 
of  seeing  the  ragged  heights  against  the  sky,  and  musing 
all  sorts  of  notions  about  the  French  Emperor,  there  was 
nothing  but  the  broad  bulk  of  the  island  high  over  us,  the 
swell  below,  and  the  sea  glimmering  wide  from  our  gunwale 
to  the  stars;  so  no  sooner  did  we  lose  sight  of  the  'Hebe' 
slowly  melting  into  the  gloom,  than  I  lit  a  cheroot,  gave  the 


300  THE  GREEN  HAND 

tiller  to  the  mid,  and  sat  stirring  to  the  heart  at  the  thought 
of  something  to  come,  I  scarce  knew  what.  As  for  Bonaparte, 
with  all  that  belonged  to  him,  't  was  little  to  me  in  that 
mood,  in  spite  of  what  I  'd  seen  during  the  day,  compared 
with  a  snatch  of  old  Channel  times;  the  truth  was,  next 
morning  I  'd  feel  for  him  again. 

"The  night  for  a  good  while  was  pretty  tolerably  starlight, 
and  in  a  sort  of  way  you  could  make  out  a  good  distance. 
One  time  we  pulled  right  round  betwixt  the  two  points, 
though  slowly  enough;  then  again  the  men  lay  on  their 
oars,  letting  her  float  in  with  the  long  swells,  till  the  surf 
could  be  heard  too  loud  for  a  safe  berth.  Farther  on  in 
the  night,  however,  it  got  to  be  dark — below  at  least — the 
breeze  holding  steady,  and  bringing  it  thicker  and  thicker; 
at  last  it  was  so  black  all  round  that  on  one  side  you  just 
knew  the  rocks  over  you,  with  the  help  of  a  faint  twinkle 
of  stars  right  aloft.  On  the  other  side  there  was  only,  at  times, 
the  two  lights  swinging  at  the  masthead  of  the  'Podargus' 
and  'Hebe,'  far  apart,  and  one  farther  to  sea  than  the 
other;  or  now  and  then  their  stern  window  and  a  port, 
when  the  heave  of  the  water  lifted  them,  or  the  ships  yawed 
a  little.  One  hour  after  another,  it  was  wearisome  enough 
waiting  for  nothing  at  all,  especially  in  the  key  one  was  in 
at  the  time,  and  with  a  long  tropical  night  before  you. 

"All  of  a  sudden,  fairly  between  the  brig  and  the  frigate, 
I  fancied  I  caught  a  glimpse  for  one  moment  of  another 
twinkle;  then  it  was  out  again,  and  I  had  given  it  up, 
when  I  was  certain  I  saw  it  plainly  once  more,  as  well  as  a 
third  time,  for  as  short  a  space  as  before.  We  were  off 
a  cove  in  the  coast,  inside  Prosperous  Bay,  where  a  bight  in 
the  rocks  softened  the  force  of  the  surf,  not  far  from  the 
steep  break  where  one  of  these  same  narrow  gullies  came 
cut — a  good  deal  short  of  the  shore,  indeed;  but  I  knew  by 
this  time  it  led  up  somewhere  toward  the  Longwood  side. 
Accordingly  the  idea  struck  me  of  a  plan  to  set  agoing, 
whether  I  hit  upon  the  right  place  or  not;  if  it  was  the 
schooner,  she  would  be  coming  down  right  from  wind- 
ward, on  the  lookout  for  a  signal,  as  well  as  for  the  spot  to 
aim  at;  the  thing  was  to  lure  her  boat  ashore  there  before 
their  time,  seize  her  crew,  and  take  the  schooner  herself 
by  surprise,  as  if  we  were  coming  back  all  right;  since 
signal  the  ships  we  could  n't,  and  the  schooner  would  be 
wary  as  a  dolphin. 

"No  sooner  said  than  done.  I  steered  cautiously  for  the 
cove,  fearfully  though  the  swell  bore  in,  breaking  over  the 


THE    FRENCHMAN  S   RED   CAP   AND    HIS    DARK,    FIERCE    FACE   GLARED   ON 
ME    BY   THE    LIGHT   OF  THE    LANTERN. 


A  SEA  STORY  301 

rocks  outside  of  it;  and  the  reefer  and  I  had  to  spring 
one  after  the  other  for  our  lives,  just  as  the  bowman  prized 
her  off  into  the  back-wash. 

"As  for  the  cutter,  it  would  spoil  all  to  keep  her  off  there- 
abouts; and  I  knew,  if  a  boat  did  come  in  of  the  kind  J. 
guessed,  why  she  would  n't  lay  herself  out  for  strength  of 
crew.  Snelling  and  I  were  well  armed  enough  to  manage 
half  a  dozen,  if  they  fancied  us  friends;  so  I  ordered  the 
men  to  pull  clear  off  for  an  hour,  at  least  leaving  fair  water. 
In  fact  there  were  sentries  about  the  heights,  I  was  aware,  if 
they  could  have  heard  or  seen  us;  but  the  din  of  the  surf, 
the  dark,  and  the  expectation  of  the  thing,  set  us  both  upon 
our  mettle;  while  I  showed  the  boat's  lantern  every  now  and 
then,  like  the  light  I  had  noticed,  such  as  the  Channel 
smugglers  use  every  thick  night  on  our  own  coast.  1  sup- 
pose we  might  have  waited  five  or  ten  minutes  when  the 
same  twinkle  was  to  be  caught,  dipping  dark  down  into 
the  swell  again,  about  opposite  the  cove;  next  we  had  half 
an  hour  more,  every  now  and  then  giving  them  a  flash  of  the 
lantern,  when  suddenly  the  reefer  said  he  saw  oars  glisten 
over  a  swell,  which  he  knew  were  n't  man-o'-war's  strokes, 
or  else  the  fellows  ought  to  have  their  grog  stopped.  1 
had  the  lantern  in  my  hand,  slipping  the  shade  once  more, 
and  the  other  to  feel  for  my  cutlass-hilt,  when  the  mid 
gave  a  cry  behind  me,  and  I  turned  just  in  time  to  see  the 
dark  figure  of  a  black  spring  off  the  stones  at  our  backs. 
One  after  another  three  or  four  more  came  leaping  past 
me  out  of  the  gloom — the  Frenchman's  red  cap  and  his  dark 
fierce  face  glared  on  me  by  the  light  of  the  lantern;  and 
next  moment  it  was  down,  with  him  and  me  in  a  deadly 
struggle  over  it  in  the  thick  black  of  the  night.  Suddenly 
I  felt  myself  lose  hold  of  him  in  the  heave  of  the  swell, 
washing  away  back  off  the  rock;  then  something  else  trying 
to  clutch  me,  when  down  I  swept  with  the  sea  bubbling  into 
my  mouth  and  ears. 

"I  came  up  above  water  again  by  the  sheer  lorce  of  the 
swell,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  plunging  into  the  shore;  with  the 
choice,  I  thought,  of  either  being  drowned  in  the  dark,  or 
knocked  to  a  jelly  on  the  rocks;  but  out  I  struck,  naturally 
enough,  rising  on  the  huge  scud  of  the  sea,  and  trying  to 
breast  it,  though  I  felt  it  sweep  me  backwards  at  every  stroke, 
and  just  saw  the  wide  glimmer  of  it  heave  far  and  wide 
for  a  moment  against  the  gloom  of  the  cliffs  behind.  All 
at  once,  in  the  trough,  I  heard  the  panting  of  some  one's 
breath  near  alongside  of  me,  and  directly  after  I  was  caught 


302  THE  GREEN  HAND 

hold  of  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  somebody  else  grabbing  at 
the  same  time  for  my  shoulder.  We  were  n't  half  a  dozen 
fathoms  from  the  stranger's  boat,  the  blacks  who  had  fallen 
foul  of  me  swimming  manfully  together,  and  the  boat 
lifting  bow-on  to  the  run  of  the  sea,  as  her  crew  looked  about 
for  us  by  the  light  of  their  lantern.  I  had  just  got  my 
senses  enough  about  me  to  notice  so  much,  when  they  were 
hauling  me  aboard;  all  four  of  the  negroes  holding  011  with 
one  hand  by  the  boat's  gunnel,  and  helping  their  way  with 
the  other;  while  the  oars  began  to  make  for  the  light,  wnich 
v/as  still  to  be  caught  by  fits,  right  betwixt  those  of  the 
two  cruisers,  as  the  space  widened  slowly  in  the  midst  of 
them,  standing  out  to  sea.  Scarce  had  I  time  to  feel  some 
one  beside  me  as  wet  as  myself,  whether  the  reefer  or 
the  Frenchman  I  did  n't  know,  when  crash  came  another 
boat  with  her  bows  fairly  down  upon  our  gunwale,  out  of 
the  dark. 

"The  spray  splashed  up  betwixt  us,  i  saw  the  glitter  of 
the  oar  blades,  and  heard  Snelling's  shrill  voice  singing  out 
to  'sink  the  villains,  my  lads — down  with  'em — remember 
the  second  lieutenant!'  The  lantern  in  the  French  boat 
flared,  floating  out  for  a  single  instant  amongst  a  wreck 
of  staves  and  heads,  bobbing  wildly  together  on  the  side 
of  a  wave.  One  of  my  own  men  from  the  cutter  pulled  me 
by  the  scuff  of  the  neck  off  the  crest  of  it  with  his  boat- 
hook,  as  it  rose  swelling  away  past,  till  I  had  fast  grip  of  her 
quarter;  the  blacks  could  be  seen  struggling  in  the  hollow, 
to  keep  up  their  master's  body,  with  his  hands  spread  help- 
lessly hither  and  thither  above  water.  The  poor  devils'  wet 
black  faces  turned  so  wistfully,  in  their  desperation,  towards 
the  cutter,  that  I  gasped  out  to  save  him.  They  kept 
making  towards  us,  in  fact,  and  the  bowman  managed  to 
hook  him  at  last,  though  not  a  moment  too  soon,  for  tho 
next  heave  broke  the  unlucky  wretches  apart,'  and  we  lost 
sight  of  them;  the  cutter  hanging  on  her  oars  till  they  had 
both  him  and  me  stowed  into  the  stern-sheets,  where  the 
Frenchman  lay  seemingly  dead  or  senseless,  and  I  spitting 
out  the  salt  water  like  a  cockney  after  a  bathe. 

"Why,  Mr.  Snelling,'  said  I,  as  soon  as  I  came  fully  to 
myself,  'I  can't  at  all  understand  how  I  got  into  the  water!' 
'Nor  I  either,  sir,'  said  he ;  '1 11  be  hanged,  sir,  if  I  did  n't 
think  it  was  a  whirlwind  of  niggers  off  the  top  of  Diana's 
Peak,  seeing  I  made  out  the  very  one  we  found  there  this 
afternoon — the  four  of  them  took  you  and  this  other  gen- 
tleman up  in  their  arms  in  a  lump,  as  you  were  flounder- 


A  SEA  STORY  303 

ing  about  together,  and  took  to  the  water  like  so  many  seals, 
sir!'  I  looked  down  into  the  Frenchman's  face,  where  he 
lay  stretched  with  his  head  back  and  his  hair  dripping.  'Is  he 
gone  ?'  said  I.  'Well,  sir,'  said  the  mid,  who  had  con- 
trived to  light  the  lantern  again,  'I  'm  afraid  he 's  pretty 
near  it.  Is  he  a  friend  of  yours,  sir? — I  thought  as  much, 
by  the  way  you  caught  him  the  moment  you  clapped  eyes 
on  each  other,  sir.'  'Silence,  sirrah !'  said  I.  'D'  ye  see 
anything  of  the  light  to  seaward?' 

"For  a  minute  or  two  we  peered  over  the  swells  into 
the  dark,  to  catch  the  twinkle  of  the  signal  again,  but  to  no 
purpose;  and  I  began  to  think  the  bird  was  flown.  All  of 
a  sudden,  however,  there  it  was  once  more,  dipping  as  before 
beyond  the  heave  of  the  sea,  and  between  the  backs  of  it, 
sliding  across  the  open  space,  with  the  blind  side  to  the 
cruisers.  'Hallo,  my  lads!'  said  I,  quickly,  and  giving  my- 
self another  shake  as  I  seized  the  tiller,  'give  way  seaward — 
stretch  your  backs  for  ten  minutes,  and  we  have  her!'  We 
were  pulling  right  for  the  spot,  when  the  light  vanished, 
but  a  show  of  our  lantern  brought  it  gleaming  fairly  out 
again,  till  I  could  even  catch  a  glimpse  by  it  of  some  craft 
or  other's  hull,  and  the  iron  of  one  boom-end,  rising  over 
the  swells.  'Bow-oar,  there!'  whispered  1.  'Stand  by,  my 
lad,  and  look  sharp!'  'Hola!'  came  a  short,  sharp  hail 
over  the  swells,  'd'ou  venez-vous?'  'Oui,  oui!'  I  sang  out 
boldly,  through  my  hand,  to  cover  the  difference  as  much 
as  possible;  then  a  thought  occurred  to  me,  recollecting  the 
French  surgeon's  words  on  board  this  very  craft  the  first 
time  we  saw  her — 'De  la  cage  de  YAiglef  1  hailed;  'bonne 
fortune,  mes  amis!'  'C'est  possible!  c'est  possible,  mon  rnpi- 
taine !'  shouted  several  of  the  schooner's  crew,  jumping  upon 
her  bulwarks,  'que  vous  apportez  lui-meme?' 

"We  were  pulling  for  her  side  as  lubberly  as  possible,  all 
the  time — a  man  ran  up  on  her  quarter  with  a  coil  of  line 
ready  to  heave — but  still  the  main  boom  of  the  schooner  was 
already  jibbing,  her  helm  up,  and  she  under  way;  they 
seemed  half  doubtful  of  us,  and  another  moment  might  'urn 
the  scales.  'Vite,  vitc !'  roared  I,  choosing  my  French  at  hap- 
hazard. 'Oui,  oui,  jettez  votre  corde — venez  au  lof,  mes 
amis!' — luff,  that  was  to  say.  I  heard  somebody  aboard  say 
it  was  the  American — the  schooner  came  up  in  the  wind, 
the  line  whizzing  off  her  quarter  into  our  bows,  and  we 
came  sheering  down  close  by  her  lee-quarter,  grinding 
against  her  bends  in  the  surge,  twenty  eager  faces  peering 
over  at  us  in  the  confusion;  when  I  sung  out  hoarsely  to  run 


304  THE  GREEN  HAND 

for  brandy  and  hot  blankets,  as  he  was  half-drowned. 
'Promptement — promptement,  mes  amis!'  shouted  I,  and  as 
quickly  there  was  a  rush  from  her  bulwarks  to  bring  what 
was  wanted,  while  Snelling  and  I  made  dash  up  her  side,  fol- 
lowed by  the  men,  cutlass  in  hand.  Three  minutes  of  hub- 
bub, and  as  many  strokes  betwixt  us,  when  we  had  driven 
the  few  that  stood  in  our  way  pell-mell  down  the  nearest 
hatchway.  The  schooner  was  completely  our  own. 

"We  hoisted  up  the  cutter,  with  the  French  captain  still 
stretched  in  the  stern-sheets — hauled  aft  the  schooner's  head- 
sheets,  let  her  large  mainsail  swing  full  again,  and  were  soon 
standing  swiftly  out  toward  the  light  at  the  frigate's  mast- 
head. 

"When  the  'Hebe'  first  caught  sight  of  us,  or  rather  heard 
the  sound  of  the  schooner's  sharp  bows  rushing  through  the 
water,  she  naturally  enough  did  n't  know  what  to  make  of 
us.  I  noticed  our  first  luff's  sudden  order  to  clear  away  the 
foremost  weather-gun,  with  the  rush  of  the  men  for  it;  but 
my  hail  set  all  to  rights.  We  hove-to  off  her  weather  quar- 
ter, and  I  was  directly  after  on  board,  explaining,  as  simply 
as  possible,  how  we  had  come  to  get  hold  of  a  French  craft 
thereabouts  in  such  a  strange  fashion. 

"Accordingly,  you  may  fancy  the  surprise  at  James  Town 
in  the  morning,  to  sec  the  'Hebe'  standing  in  with  her 
prize,  let  alone  the  Governor's  perfect  astonishment  at  sus- 
pecting some  scheme  to  carry  off  Napoleon,  apparently,  so 
far  brought  to  a  head.  The  upshot  of  it  was,  to  cut  this 
bit  of  my  story  short,  he  and  the  military  folks  would  have 
it,  at  last,  that  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind,  but  only 
some  slaver  from  the  African  coast  wanting  to  land  a  cargo, 
especially  as  there  were  so  many  blacks  aboard  of  her,  and 
the  Frenchman  at  once  took  the  cue,  the  little  Monsieur  of 
a  mate  swearing  he  had  been  employed  by  several  of  the 
islanders  some  months  before  to  bring  them  slaves.  For 
my  own  part,  all  things  considered,  I  had  nothing  to  say, 
and  after  some  likelihood  of  a  shine  being  kicked  up  about 
it  at  first,  the  matter  was  hushed  up.  However,  the  schooner 
was  of  course  condemned  in  the  meantime,  as  the  'Hebe's' 
fair  prize,  till  such  time  as  the  Admiralty  Court  at  the 
Cape  should  settle  it  on  our  outward-bound  voyage. 

"As  the  'Hebe,'  was  to  sail  at  once  for  India,  the  Governor 
took  the  opportunity  to  send  two  cr  three  supernumeraries 
out  in  the  vessel  along  with  us  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
amongst  whom  was  the  Yankee  botanist;  and  though  being 


A  SEA  STORY  305 

in  the  frigate  I  did  n't  see  him,  I  made  as  sure  as  if  1 
had,  it  was  my  old  shipmate  Daniel. 

"Well,  the  morning  came,  when  we  weighed  anchor  from 
>St.  James's  Bay  for  sea,  in  company  with  the  prize.  It 
wasn't  more  than  ten  or  eleven  days  since  we  had  arrived 
in  the  'Podargus,'  but  I  was  as  weary  with  the  sight  of  St. 
Helena  as  if  I'd  lived  there  a  year.  The  frigate's  lovely 
hull,  and  her  taunt  spars,  spreading  the  square  stretch  of 
her  white  canvas  sideways  to  the  Trade,  put  new  life  into 
me.  Slowly  as  we  dropped  the  peaks  of  the  island  on  our 
lee-quarter,  't  was  something  to  feel  yourself  travelling  the 
same  road  as  the  Indiaman  once  more,  with  the  odds  of  a 
mail  coach,  too,  to  a  French  diligence.  What  chance  might 
turn  up  to  bring  us  together,  I  certainly  did  n't  see ;  but  that 
night,  when  we  and  the  schooner  were  the  only  things  in  the 
horizon,  both  fast  plunging,  close-hauled,  on  a  fresh  breeze, 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  I  set  my  mind,,  for  the  first  time, 
more  at  ease.  'Luck  and  the  anchors  stowed!'  thought  1, 
'and  hang  all  fore-thoughts !'  I  walked  the  weather  quarter- 
deck in  my  watch  as  pleasantly  as  might  be,  with  now  and 
then  a  glance  forward  at  Snelling,  as  he  yarned  at  the  fife- 
rail  beside  a  groggy  old  mate,  and  at  times  a  glimmer  of  the 
schooner's  hull  on  our  lee-beam,  rising  wet  out  of  the  dusk, 
under  charge  of  our  third  lieutenant. 

"It  was  about  a  week  afterwards,  and  we  began  to  have 
rough  touches  of  Cape  weather,  pitching  away  on  cross  seas, 
and  handing  our  gallant-sails  oftener  of  a  night,  that  Lord 
Frederick  said  to  me  one  evening,  before  going  down  to 
his  cabin,  'Mr.  Collins,  I  really  hope  we  shall  not  find  your 
Indiaman  at  Cape  Town,  after  all!'  'Indeed,  Lord  Fred- 
erick!' said  I  respectfully  enough;  but  it  was  the  very 
thing  I  hoped  myself.  'Yes,  sir/  continued  he;  'as  I 
received  strict  injunctions  by  Admiral  Plampin  to  arrest 
Lieutenant  Westwood  if  we  fell  in  with  her  there,  and 
otherwise,  to  send  the  schooner  in  her  track,  even  if  it  were 
to  Bombay.'  'The  deuce!'  I  thought,  'are  we  never  to  be 
done  with  this  infernal  affair?'  "T  is  excessively  disagree- 
able,' continued  the  captain,  swinging  his  gold  eyeglass 
round  his  finger  by  the  chain,  as  waa  his  custom  when  both- 
ered, and  looking  with  one  eye  all  the  while  at  the  schooner. 
•A  beautiful  craft,  by  the  way,  Mr.  Collins!'  said  he,  'even 
within  sight  of  the  "Hebe."'  'She  is  so,  my  lord,'  said 
I ;  'if  she  had  tmly  had  a  sensible  boatswain,  even,  to  put  the 
sticks  aloft  in  her.'  'I  say,  Mr.  Collins,'  went  on  his  lord- 


306  THE  GREEN  HAND 

ship,  musingly,  'I  think  I  havo  it,  though — the  way  to  get 
rid  of  this  scrape!' 

"I  waited  and  waited,  however,  for  Lord  Frederick  to 
mention  this;  and  to  no  purpose,  apparently,  as  he  went 
below  without  saying  a  word  more  about  it. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

"WELL,  ma'am,"  continued  our  narrator,  addressing  him- 
self, as  usual,  to  his  matronly  relative  in  the  chair,  and  with 
the  accustomed  catch-word,  which  was  like  the  knotting  to- 
gether of  his  interrupted  yarn :  "well — it  was  between  a 
fortnight  and  three  weeks  after  losing  sight  of  St.  Helena, 
that,  being  at  last  fairly  in  the  latitude  of  the  Cape,  the 
frigate  and  schooner  tacked  in  company,  and  stood  close- 
hauled  on  a  wind  to  the  eastward.  By  the  middle  watch  that 
night,  when  the  moon  set,  we  could  make  out  the  long  flat 
top  of  Table  Mountain  heaving  in  sight  off  the  horizon 
over  against  her.  ^ext  day,  in  fact,  we  were  both  of  us 
quietly  at  anchor  outside  of  the  shipping  in  Table  Bay; 
Cape  Town  glittering  along  on  the  green  flat  amongst  the 
trees  to  southward,  with  the  hills  on  each  side  of  it  like 
some  big  African  lion  lying  on  guard  close  by;  while  Table 
Mountain  hove  up,  square-shouldered,  blue  to  the  left,  four 
thousand  feet  high,  as  bare  and  steep  as  a  wall,  with  the 
rocks  and  trees  creeping  up  from  the  foot,  and  the  wreaths 
of  light  cloud  resting  half  way,  like  nothing  else  but  the 
very  breakwater  of  the  world's  end.  The  sea  stretched  broad 
off  to  north  and  west,  and  a  whole  fleet  of  craft  lay  be- 
twixt us  and  the  land — half  of  them  Indiamen — amongst 
which,  you  may  be  sure,  I  kept  a  pretty  sharp  lookout  with 
the  glass,  to  see  if  the  'Seringapatam'  were  there  still. 

al  was  soon  saved  further  pains  on  this  head,  however, 
when  shortly  afterwards  the  frigate  was  beset  by  a  whole 
squadron  of  bumboats,  shoving  against  each  other  and 
squabbling  in.  all  sorts  of  nigger  tongues,  who  should  be 
first :  the  chief  of  them  being  in  evident  command  of  a  fat 
old  Dutch  vrouw,  with  an  immense  blue  umbrella  over  her, 
two  greasy-looking  Hottentot  rowers  in  blankets,  and  a 
round-faced  Dutch  boy,  the  picture  of  herself,  steering  the 
boat;  as  the  old  lady  made  a  clear  berth  for  herself, 
by  laying  about  her  with  her  blue  umbrella,  till  she  was  close 
under  our  quarter,  sitting  all  tho  while  with  the  broad  round 


A  SEA  STORY  30; 

stern  of  her  bright-colored  gown  spread  over  a  couple  of 
beer-barrels,  like  a  peacock's  train.  In,  two  minutes  more 
the  little  fellow  was  up  the  side,  nourishing  a  bundle  of 
papers  under  the  first  lieutenant's  very  nose,  and  asking  the 
ship's  custom,  even  whilst  the  sentries  were  ordering  them 
all  off.  A  midshipman  took  this  youth  by  the  scuff  of  the 
neck,  and  was  handing  him  rather  roughly  along  to  the 
care  of  the  purser's  steward,  when  I  stepped  betwixt  them; 
and  a  bumboat  being  the  best  directory  on  the  point,  of 
course,  I  soon  found  the  old  lady  had  had  dealings  with 
the  'Seringapatam,'  which  her  bluff-built  little  progeny  de- 
scribed as  a  very  good  ship  indeed,  all  having  paid  their 
bills,  except  one  young  officer,  who  had  left  a  balance  stand- 
ing, for  which  he  had  given  a  letter  to  his  brother  in  a 
ship  that  was  to  come  after.  As  for  the  Indiaman  her- 
self, the  Dutch  boy  said  she  had  sailed  about  a  week  be- 
fore our  arrival,  along  with  two  others;  and  he  was  anxious 
to  know  if  we  were  the  vessel  in  question.  I  accordingly 
unfolded  the  open  letter,  which  was  addressed:  'Thomas 
Spoonbill  Simm,  Esquire,  of  His  Britannic  Majesty's  ship 
"Nincompoop"  (or  otherwise)';  and  it  ran  somehow  thus: — 
rBon.  East  India  Company's  ship  "Seringapatam,"  Table 
Bay,  September  1,  1816. — My  dear  Brother, — This  ig  to 
certify  that  I  have  eaten  four  dozen  and  a  half  of  eggs, 
supplied  by  the  worthy  vrouw  Dulcken,  the  bearer  of  this, 
whom  I  can  recommend  as  an  old  screw,  and  am  due  her 
for  the  same  the  sum  of  nine  shilling  and  sixpence  sterling, 
which  you  will  kindly  pay  her,  taking  her  receipt  or  mark, 
unless  you  are  willing  to  forfeit  our  family  watch,  herewith 
deposited  by  me  in  the  hands  of  said  Mother  Dulcken.  1 
may  add  that,  in  justice  to  the  worthy  vrouw,  three  of  the 
above-mentioned  eggs  ought  to  be  charged  as  fowls,  which, 
by  the  way,  I  did  not  consume;  and,  with  love  to  all  at 
home,  remain  your  affectionate  brother,  JOHN  SIMM, 
H.E.I.C.S. — P.8.  The  watch  I  have  discovered  to  be  pinch- 
beck, and  it  does  not  go;  so  that  a  sad  trick  must  have 
been  originally  played  upon  our  venerated  Uncle,  from 
whom  it  descended. — J.  S.' 

"This  precious  epistle  was,  without  doubt,  a  joke  of  the 
fat  mid  Simm,  who  used  to  come  such  rigs  over  Ford  the 
cadet,  and  that  jumped  overboard  one  night  by  mistake  out 
of  the  Indiaman's  quarter-boat,  during  the  voyage.  As  for 
the  existence  of  his  brother  Thomas,  or  the  chance  of  his 
touching  at  that  port,  I  set  them  down  with  the  coming 
home  of  Vandcrdecken ;  though  the  thought  of  this  young 


308  THE  GREEN  HAND 

scamp  of  a  sea-lawyer  breakfasting  for  a  fortnight  so  com- 
fortably, only  a  few  feet  distant  from  my  charmer's  state- 
room, sent  me  all  abroad  again,  and  right  into  the  India- 
man's  decks,  by  this  time  far  out  of  sight  of  land.  Piece 
of  impudent  roguery  though  it  was,  I  was  actually  loath  to 
part  with  the  scrawl,  which  the  reefer  had  fisted,  no  doubt, 
on  the  lid  of  his  chest — probably  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth 
at  the  time,  it  smelt  so  of  tobacco — only  seven  days  before: 
I  could  even  see  the  grin  on  his  fat  face  as  he  wrote  it  below 
in  the  steerage,  with  his  chin  up,  and  his  eyes  looking  down 
past  his  pipe;  while  the  little  Dutch  boy's  round  flat  frontis- 
piece glistened  as  he  peered  up  at  me,  in  the  evident  notion 
of  my  being  the  brother  expected. 

"In  fact,  ma'am,  I  was  so  soft  as  to  intend  paying  the 
nine-and-sixpence  myself,  and  keeping  the  letter,  when  I 
was  startled  to  see  the  old  lady  herself  had  contrived  to  be 
hoisted  on  board  amongst  her  cabbages;  and  having  got 
wind  of  the  thing,  seemingly,  she  came  waddling  towards  me 
to  hand  over  Simm's  watch  to  boot.  In  another  half -minute 
the  letter  was  being  read  aloud  in  the  midst  of  the  whole 
gunroom  officers,  amongst  roars  of  laughter;  'the  honest 
old  Dutchwoman  holding  aloft  the  precious  article,  and 
floundering  through  to  find  out  the  rightful  owner,  as 
every  one  claimed  it  and  offered  the  nine-and-sixpence;  while 
for  my  part  I  tried  first  to  get  down  one  hatchway,  then 
another,  and  Lord  Frederick  himself  came  up  on  the  star- 
board side  of  the  quarter-deck  in  the  height  of  the  scene. 
Indeed,  I  believe  it  was  a  joke  for  months  after  in  the 
'Hebe/  of  a  night,  to  say  it  was  'the  second  lieutenant's 
watch';  the  sole  revenge  I  had  being  to  leave  Mother 
Dulcken  and  her  boy  to  expect  the  'ship  that  was  coming 
after.' 

"A  Government  boat  came  aboard  in  the  afternoon  and  as 
soon  as  it  left  us,  Lord  Frederick  took  his  gig,  and  steered 
for  a  frigate  lying  some  distance  off,  which  had  the  harbor- 
flag  hoisted  at  her  main,  being  the  only  man-o'-war  be- 
sides ourselves,  and  commanded  by  a  senior  captain. 

"Till  it  got  dark  I  could  see  the  crews  of  the  nearest 
merchantmen  looking  over  their  bulwarks  at  us  and  our 
prize,  apparently  comparing  the  schooner  with  the  frigate, 
and  speculating  on  her  character,  as  she  lay  a  few  fathoms 
off  the  'Hebe's'  quarter,  both  of  us  rising  and  falling  in 
turn  on  the  long  heave  of  the  Cape  swell  from  seaward. 
'T  was  hard  to  say,  in  fact,  so  far  as  their  hulls  went,  which 
was  the  most  beautiful  sample  of  its  kind;  though  the 


A  SEA  STORY  309 

schooner's  French-fashioned  sticks  and  offhand  sort  of  rig- 
ging showed  rather  like  jury-gear  beside  the  tall,  regular 
sticks  aloft  of  the  'Hebe's'  decks,  with  all  her  hamper 
perfect  to  a  tee.  The  'Hebe's'  men  very  naturally  consid- 
ered their  own  ship  a  model  for  everything  that  floated — 
a  sort  of  a  Solomon's  temple,  in  short;  and  to  hear  ths 
merciless  way  they  ran  down  the  Indiamen  all  round, 
would  have  raised  the  whole  homeward-bound  fleet  against 
us;  whereas  the  schooner  was  our  own,  at  any  rate,  and  she 
was  spoken  of  much  in  the  manner  one  mentions  an  un- 
fortunate orphan,  as  good  as  already  christened  by  the 
name  of  the  'Young  Hebe.' 

"This  our  learned  chaplain  said  was  quite  improper,  and 
he  gave  another  name  in  place  of  it — the  'Aniceta' — which 
meant,  as  he  observed,  the  'Hebe's'  youngest  daughter;  so 
the  'Aniceta'  she  was  called,  happening  to  be  a  title  that 
went,  according  to  the  boatswain,  full  as  sweetly  through 
the  sheave-hole. 

"Next  day  the  schooner  had  landed  not  only  her  pas- 
sengers from  St.  Helena,  but  the  prisoners  also,  as  we  still 
understood  the  French  and  their  Kroomen  to  be.  Not  long 
after  that  Lord  Frederick  came  back  from  Cape  Town,  look- 
ing grave,  and  went  straight  down  to  his  cabin,  or  'cabins,7 
as  his  lordship  preferred  to  have  it  said.  The  first  lieuten- 
ant dined  that  day  with  the  captain;  but  they  could  scarcely 
have  finished  when  the  'young  gentlemen,'  who  had  been 
as  usual  from  the  reefers'  mess,  came  up  with  a  message 
from  the  captain,  that  his  lordship  would  be  glad  if  I  would 
join  the  first  lieutenant  and  himself  in  a  glass  of  wine. 
I  found  them  sitting  at  the  side  of  the  table  nearest  the 
open  port,  with  the  decanters  between  them,  and  the  broad 
bright  bay  in  full  sight  to  the  shore  and  the  foot  of  Table 
Mountain,  which  rose  up  blocking  the  port  with  the  top 
of  it  beyond  view;  the  sounds  of  the  merchantmen  clicking 
at  their  heavy  windlasses,  and  hoisting  in  water-casks,  floated 
slowly  in  from  every  side,  while  the  schooner  had  hauled  on 
her  cable  more  abreast  of  the  frigate,  leaving  the  sight  clear 
over  the  eddy  round  her  low  counter. 

"  'A.  lovely  piece  of  workmanship,  certainly !'  observed 
Lord  Frederick  thoughtfully,  as  he  leaned  back  swinging 
his  eyeglass  round  his  finger,  with  the  other  hand  in  the 
breast  of  his  waistcoat,  and  looking  out  at  what  was  seen 
of  the  schooner.  'And  how  one  might  have  improved  her 
spars,  too!'  said  Mr.  Hall,  wistfully.  'I  should  have  recom- 
mended longer  lower-masts  altogether,  Lord  Frederick,  and 


310  THE  GREEN   HAND 

a  thorough  overhaul,  I  may  say,  from  the  combings  upwards !' 
'I  would  not  have  her  hull  touched  for  the  world,  Mr.  Hall!' 

said  the  captain ;  "t  is  too excessively  provoking,  at  least ! 

But  pass  the  bottles  to  Mr.  Collins,  if  you  please.'  I  had 
taken  a  chair,  and  quietly  filled  my  glass,  wondering  what 
could  be  the  matter,  when  his  lordship  turned  to  me  and 
said,  'Do  you  know,  Mr.  Collins,  this  schooner  of  ours  is 
likely  to  be  laid  up  in  Chancery,  heaven  knows  how  long? 
The  Admiralty  Court  ashore  are  doubtful  of  condemning 
her,  apparently,  and  she  must  either  be  sent  home  or  to 
Monte  Video,  or  somewhere,  where  the  master  of  her  claims 
to  belong!'  'Indeed,  my  lord,'  said  1,  setting  down  my  glass, 
'that  is  curious.'  'Curious,  indeed,  sir!'  replied  he,  biting 
his  lips,  'though,  after  all,  we  really  can  scarce  say  what  she 
is  to  be  condemned  for — only  in  the  meantime  I  sail  to- 
morrow for  India.'  'She 's  French  to  the  backbone,  that 
I'  11  swear,  Lord  Frederick !'  I  said ;  'and  what 's  more,  she 

was '     'Ah,'  broke  in  the  captain,  'I  know,  I  know ;  but 

the  less  we  say  of  that,  in  present  circumstances,  the  better! 
Once  get  her  entangled  with  politics,  and  we  may  give  her 
up  altogether.'  Lord  Frederick  twisted  his  eyeglass  round 
his  forefinger  faster  than  before,  still  watching  the  schooner; 
the  first  lieutenant  held  up  his  claret  betwixt  himself  and 
the  light,  and  I  sipped  mine.  'I  tell  you  what,  gentlemen,' 
exclaimed  his  lordship,  suddenly,  'I  must  have  that  schooner 
at  any  cost! — What  is  to  be  done,  Mr.  Hall?'  'She'd  be  of 
great  service  in  the  China  seas,  my  lord,  certainly,'  said  the 
first  lieutenant,  looking  thoughtfully  into  his  empty  glass; 
'  a  perfect  treasure  for  light  service,  especially  if  new  sparred 

and '     I  noticed  Lord  Frederick  glancing  sideways   at 

me,  as  I  thought,  with  a  slight  gleam  in  his  eye;  and  ac- 
cordingly I  suggested  that  he  might  buy  her  from  the 
Frenchman  himself;  a  very  poor  idea,  no  doubt,  as  both 
the  captain  and  first  luff  seemed  to  think,  and  we  all  three 
kept  eying  her  doubtfully  through  the  port,  without  a  word. 
"At  this  time  the  schooner's  counter  had  been  slowly  sheer- 
ing toward  the  frigate's  beam,  owing  to  the  ebb-tide,  and 
her  holding  only  by  a  single  cable,  till  her  stern  began  to 
show  right  opposite  the  cabin,  I  should  say  not  twenty  feet 
off.  Lord  Frederick  put  his  glass  to  his  eye,  and  was  peer- 
ing through  it,  when  he  remarked  that  they  had  brought 
up  rather  too  near,  leaving  scarce  room  for  the  schooner  to 
swing  as  she  did,  earlier  than  we,  so  that  she  would  be 
in  danger  of  getting  foul  of  the  frigate's  cables.  'The  worst 
of  it  is,  Lord  Frederick,'  said  I,  'that  in  case  of  a  gale 


A  SEA  STORY  31; 

from  seaward  here,  she  might  have  to  slip  and  run  upon 
very  short  warning,  whereas,  the  "Hebe"  has  plenty  of 
ground-tackle  to  let  her  ride  it  out.  Considering  it  was 
Table  Bay,  at  this  season,  he  ought  to  have  kept  her  a 
clearer  berth  for  herself,  or  else  have  gone  well  outside!' 
'Ah !'  said  Lord  Frederick  quickly,  meeting  my  eye  for  half 
a  minute,  till  the  gleam  came  into  his  again;  and  somehow 
or  other  mine  must  have  caught  it,  though  I  must  say  the 
notion  that  struck  me  then  all  at  once  was  n't  in  my  head 
before.  'Do  you  know,  that 's  well  thought  of,  Collins !'  said 
his  lordship.  'You  've  weathered  the  Cape  before,  by  the  bye  V 
'A  dozen  times,  Lord  Frederick,'  said  I;  when  a  regularly 
jovial  roar  of  laughter  broke  fair  through  the  port  into  the 
cabin  from  the  schooner's  taffrail,as  she  sheered  end-on  to  the 
frigate's  quarter,  and  Lord  Frederick  leaned  forward  with  the 
glass  screwed  into  his  right  eye  to  see  along  their  decks, 
which  were  covered  aft  with  an  awning  like  the  open  gable 
of  a  tent  at  a  fair.  'Singular!'  said  he;  'by  the  Lord  Harry, 
who  or  what  can  that  be  Mr.  Hammond  has  got  there?' 
Dangling  over  the  French  schooner's  taffrail  were  to  be  seen 
the  soles  of  two  immense  boots,  with  calves  and  knees  to 
match,  and  a  pair  of  tightish  striped  trousers  worked  up  more 
than  halfway,  till  you  saw  the  tops  of  the  stockings;  just 
beyond  the  knees  was  the  face  leaning  back  in  the  shade  of 
the  awning  and  a  straw  hat  together,  out  of  which  a  huge 
green  cabbage-leaf  hung  like  a  flap  over  one  eye,  while  the 
other  kept  gazing  in  a  half -closed  sleepy  sort  of  way  at  the 
sky,  and  the  red  end  of  a  cigar  winked  and  glowed  in  the 
midst  of  the  puff  of  smoke  lower  down.  The  first  lieutenant 
started  up  shocked  at  the  sight,  the  noble  captain  of  the 'Hebe' 
sat  with  his  eyeglass  fixed,  between  amusement  and  wonder; 
for  my  own  part,  when  the  voice  of  this  same  prodigy 
broke  all  of  a  sudden  on  us  out  of  the  awning,  in  a  mixture  of 
stuttering,  hiccuping,  Yankee  drawling,  and  puffs  at  the 
cigar,  't  was  all  I  could  do  to  hold  on,  with  the  knowledge  of 
where  I  was.  'Wall  now,  general,'  said  the  American,  as  if 
he  were  talking  to  some  one  aloft  or  in  the  sky,  'ye-you'ro 
qui-quite  wrong — I  ki-kick-calc'late  I've  fit  a  deal  more  be- 
be-battles  than  you  have — I  re-respect  you,  Ge-Ge-General 
Washington;  but  I  ho-ho-hope  you  know  who — hie — who  L 
am !'  Here  Mr.  Daniel  Snout,  who  was  in  a  state  of  beastly 
intoxication,  swayed  himself  up  bodily  into  the  schooner's 
taffrail,  and  sat  with  his  arms  folded,  his  long  legs  swinging 
over  the  stern,  and  his  head  trying  to  keep  steady,  as  he 
scbwled  solemnly  aloft  over  tlifc  frigate's  mizzen-royal-mast- 


312  THE  GREEN   HAND 

head;  while  the  third  lieutenant,  Mr.  Hammond,  and  the 
master's  mate  he  had  aboard  with  him,  could  be  heard  laugh- 
ing at  his  back,  as  if  they  had  gone  mad — Hammond  being  a 
wild  sprig  of  an  Irishman,  who  would  go  any  length  for  a 
piece  of  fun. 

"Just  then  the  American's  one  eye  lighted  on  the  side  of 
the  frigate,  till  it  settled  lazily  on  the  port  of  the  captain's 
cabin:  first  he  seemed  to  notice  Lord  Frederick  Bury,  and 
then  myself,  the  first  lieutenant  having  just  recovered  him- 
self enough  to  rush  toward  the  door  to  get  on  deck.  Daniel 
himself  surveyed  me  scornfully  for  a  moment,  then  with  a 
sort  of  doubtful  frown,  and  a  gravity  that  passes  me  to  de- 
scribe, unless  by  the  look  of  an  old  cock  a-drinking — evidently 
trying  to  recollect  me.  'Halloo,  mister !'  shouted  he,  suddenly, 
'you  have  n't  touched  those  notions  of  mine,  I  hope.'  With 
that  he  made  a  spring  off  where  he  sat,  as  if  to  come  towards 
us — no  doubt  thinking  of  the  'Seringapatam,'  and  the  valu- 
ables he  had  left  aboard,  without  seeing  the  water  between; 
and  a  pretty  deep  dive  Mr.  Snout  would  have  made  of  it,  into 
an  ebb-tide  that  would  have  swept  him  under  the  frigate's 
bottom,  if  Mr.  Hammond  and  the  midshipman  had  n't  both 
sprung  forward  in  time  to  catch  him  by  the  neck  of  the  coat. 
There,  accordingly,  was  the  Yankee  hanging  like  a  spread 
eagle  over  the  schooner's  taffrail,  yelling  and  turning  round 
at  the  same  time  like  a  fowl  on  a  spit — the  third  lieutenant's 
and  the  mate's  faces  two  pictures  of  dismay,  as  they  held  on, 
at  finding  for  the  first  time  where  the  schooner  had  shied 
them  round  to,  with  their  two  pairs  of  eyes  fair  in  front  of 
the  captain's  eyeglass — while  Mr.  Hall  was  singing  out  like 
thunder  from  the  deck  above  us,  'The  schooner  ahoy ! — d'  ye 
see  where  you  've  got  to,  sir  ?  Haul  ahead  on  that  cable,  d'  ye 
hear,  you  lubbers,  and  keep  clear  of  the  ship !' 

"  'Mr.  Collins,'  said  his  lordship  quietly  to  me,  as  soon  he 
could  keep  his  countenance,  and  looking  the  sterner  for  the 
trouble  he  was  put  to  in  doing  it,  'you  will  get  your  things 
and  go  aboard  the  schooner  directly — take  her  in  charge,  sir, 
and  send  Mr.  Hammond  back  here.'  'Very  well,  my  lord,' 
said  I,  waiting  in  the  doorway  for  something  more,  which 
from  something  in  Lord  Frederick's  look,  I  had  reason  to 
expect,  knowing  it  of  old.  'I  can  only  spare  you  a  dozen  of 
the  men  she  has,'  added  he;  'but  if  you  choose,  you  can  send 
ashore  at  once  to  pick  up  a  few  makeshifts,  or  anything  you 
find!'  'Ay,  ay,  my  lord,'  said  I;  'the  best  hand  for  that 
would  be  Mr.  Snelling,  if  I  may  take  him,  Lord  Frederick  ?' 
'Oh,  certainly,'  was  the  answer;  'and  hark  ye,  Collins,  you 


A  SEA  STORY  313 

had  better  shift  your  berth  a  few  cable-lengths  farther  off,  or 
more,  if  you  please,'  'One  thing,  my  lord,'  said  I,  stooping 
down  to  see  through  the  port,  'I  don't  much  like  the  heavy 
ground-swell  that  begins  to  meet  the  ebb,  and  I  fancy  it  won't 
be  long  ere  Table  Mountain  spreads  its  supper-cloth — in 
which  case  I  'd  consider  it  necessary  to  slip  cable  and  run  out 
at  once,  though  I  might  n't  get  in  again  so  easily.  Am  I  to 
find  the  frigate  here  again,  Lord  Frederick?' 

'Deuce  take  it,  man — no !'  said  his  lordship.  He  turned 
his  back  to  hide  the  evident  twinkle  of  his  eye.  'Should  we 
part  company,  of  course  you  make  for  the  Bay  of  Bengal! 
You  can't  be  sure  of  the  "Hebe,"  short  of  the  Sandheads — 
and  if  not  there,  then  opposite  Fort  William,  at  Culcutta.' 
'Very  good,  my  lord,'  said  I,  and  had  made  my  bow  to  go  on 
deck,  when  Lord  Frederick  called  me  back.  'By  the  bye,'  said 
he  hastily,  'about  that  Indiaman  of  yours,  Collins — she  is 
here  no  doubt?'  'No,  Lord  Frederick,'  answered  I,  '1 
believe  she  sailed  a  week  ago.'  'Dear  me,  the  deuce!'  ex- 
claimed he;  'why,  I  meant  to  have  sent  to-morrow  to  have 
your  friend  Westwood  arrested  and  brought  aboard!'  1 
started  at  this,  on  which  his  lordship  explained  that  if  West- 
wood  got  to  Bombay,  whither  the  'Seringapatam'  was  bound, 
the  authorities  there  would  have  the  news  of  the  thing  by  this 
time,  and  could  send  him  overland  at  once  to  England,  which 
would  be  far  worse  for  him  than  being  carried  to  Calcutta, 
where  his  uncle  the  Councillor's  interests  might  do  something 
for  him.  'The  best  thing  you  can  do,  Collins,'  added  Lord 
Frederick,  'if  you  are  obliged  to  run  out  to  sea,  is  to  look 
after  that  Indiaman!  With  such  a  neat  thing  of  a  sea-boat 
under  you,  you  might  do  anything  you  please;  so  cruise  to 
windward  or  leeward  in  chase,  find  her  out,  and  take  out 
Westwood  bodily — lose  him  afterwards  in  the  Hoogly,  it  you 
like — carry  away  those  old  spars  of  hers,  and  send  up  new 
ones — only  don't  lose  the  schooner,  I  beg;  so  good-by  to  you, 
my  dear  fellow,  lest  we  should  not  meet  on  this  side  the  line 
again!'  'Good-by,  my  lord!'  said  I  cheerfully,  and  hurried 
on  deck,  understanding  all  he  wanted  as  well  as  if  I'd  been 
ordered  to  set  her  jib  that  moment  and  heave  up  anchor.  In 
ten  minutes  I  was  over  the  frigate's  side,  and  in  ten  more 
Hammond  was  back  in  her,  with  the  men  who  were  to  leave; 
while  I  sent  my  baggage  below,  set  the  hands  to  work  shifting 
the  schooner's  berth,  and  by  sundown  we  were  lying  beyond 
hail  of  the  ship,  opposite  the  custom-house,  and  a  long  line  pf 
a  main  street  in  Cape  Town,  where  we  could  see^the  people, 
the  carriages,  and  the  Dutch  bullock-carts  passing  up  and 


3i4  THE  GREEN   HAND 

down;  while  Table  Mountain  hove  away  up  off  the  steep 
Devil's  Hill  and  the  Lion's  Rump,  to  the  long  level  line  a-top 
as  blue  and  bare  as  an  iron  monument,  and  throwing  a 
shadow  to  the  right  over  the  peaks  near  at  hand. 

"Our  friend  from  the  United  States  being  by  this  time  in 
quite  an  oblivious  condition,  the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  have 
him  put  quietly  into  the  boat  with  which  Mr.  Snelling  was  to 
go  ashore  for  fresh  hands,  and  I  instructed  the  reefer  to  get 
clear  of  him  anyhow  he  liked,  if  it  was  only  above  tide-mark. 
When  they  were  gone  I  walked  the  schooner's  little  quarter- 
deck in  the  dusk  by  myself,  till  the  half-moon  rose  with  a 
ghostly  copper-like  glare  over  the  hollow  in  the  Lion's  Rump, 
streaking  across  the  high  face  of  Table  Mountain,  and  bring- 
ing out  all  its  rifts  and  wrinkles  again.  The  land-breeze  be- 
gan to  blow  steadily  with  a  long  sighing  sweep  from  the 
north-east,  meeting  the  heavy  swell  that  set  into  the  broad 
bay;  and  the  schooner,  being  a  light  crank  little  craft,  got 
rather  uneasy ;  whereas  you  could  see  the  lights  of  the  frigate 
heaving  and  settling  leisurely,  less  than  half  a  mile  off.  I  had 
only  six  or  seven  good  hands  aboard  altogether  at  the  time, 
which,  with  those  the  midshipman  had,  were  barely  sufficient 
to  work  her  in  such  seas;  so  with  all  I  had  to  do,  with  the 
difficulty  of  getting  men  in  the  circumstances,  a  long  voyage 
before  us,  and  things  that  might  turn  up,  as  I  hoped,  to  re- 
quire a  touch  of  the  regular  service,  why,  the  very  pleasure 
of  having  a  command  made  me  a  good  deal  anxious.  Even  of 
that  I  did  n't  feel  sure;  and  I  kept  watching  Table  Mountain, 
eager  for  the  least  bit  of  haze  to  come  across  the  top  of  it,  as 
well  as  sorry  I  had  sent  Snelling  ashore.  'I  'd  give  a  hundred 
pounds  at  this  moment,'  thought  I,  'to  have  had  Bob  Jacobs 
here !' 

"As  the  moon  got  higher,  I  could  see  the  swell  washing 
up  between  the  different  merchantmen  in  sight,  into  their 
shadows,  and  heavy  enough  some  of  them  seemed  to  roll 
round  their  cables,  betwixt  a  breeze  and  a  swell  running  the 
contrary  ways;  first  one  let  go  a  second  anchor,  and  then 
another,  to  help  their  heads  shoreward;  but  still  there  was 
no  danger,  as  things  went.  It  was  n't  long  before  I  made  out 
two  boats  coming  from  toward  the  town,  round  the  stern  of 
one  of  the  ships,  the  frigate  lying  betwixt  her  and  us,  so  that 
they  took  her  by  the  way,  and  a  good  deal  of  hailing  seemed 
to  pass  between  them.  I  could  even  see  epaulets  glisten 
over  the  'Hebe's'  quarter,  as  if  there  was  a  stir  made  aboard ; 
after  which  the  boats  were  plainly  pulling  for  the  schooner. 
What  all  this  might  mean  I  could  n't  very  well  conceive,  un- 


A  SEA  STORY  315 

less  it  wei'e  either  Snelling  come  back  already,  or  else  some 
hands  Lord  Frederick  himself  had  provided  before  this,  as  I 
saw  both  boats  were  full  of  people.  'Forward  there!'  1  sung 
out,  'hail  those  boats.'  'Ay,  ay,  the  schooner  ahoy!'  was  the 
answer  in  a  sharp  voice  from  the  headmost  of  them,  'from  the 
shore — all  right!  Stand  by  to  heave  us  a  line,  will  yef 
Next  came  a  hail  from  Snelling,  in  our  own  gig ;  so  I  at  once 
gave  orders  to  heave  them  a  rope  and  have  both  boats  brought 
under  the  gangway,  naturally  supposing  the  sharp  little 
fellow  had  come  some  marvellous  good  speed  in  shipping 
hands.  As  soon  as  he  jumped  on  deck,  I  accordingly  inquired 
how  many  men  he  had  brought,  when  to  my  great  surprise  he 
informed  me  there  was  only  one,  'a  scuffy  sort  of  a  swab,'  as 
he  expressed  it,  'who  would  do  for  cook !'  'The  devil  he  will ! 
you  young  rascal/  I  broke  out. 

"  'Hush,  sir,  for  heaven's  sake,'  said  he,  making  some 
extraordinary  sign,  which  I  didn't  understand;  'it'll  all  be 
right  in  the  end,  Mr.  Collins.  Now  then,  sir,'  to  some  one  in 
the  boat  alongside,  as  he  carefully  handed  him  the  accom- 
modation-ropes, 'here  you  are — hold  on,  sir — so-o !'  This 
was  a  rather  youngish  fellow  in  a  huge  pilot-coat  and  a 
glazed  cap,  with  some  kind  of  uniform  inside,  and  a  large 
breastpin  in  his  shirt,  who  handed  me  a  paper  the  moment  he 
stood  firm  on  deck,  without  speaking  a  word;  though,  by  the 
light  of  the  deck-lantern,  I  did  n't  much  like  the  look  of"  his 
foxy  sort  of  face,  with  the  whiskers  on  it  coming  forward 
from  both  cheeks  to  his  mouth,  nor  the  glance  he  gave  round 
the  schooner  with  his  pair  of  quick  sharp  little  eyes.  'Much 
more  like  a  custom-house  officer  than  a  cook !'  thought  I,  'un- 
less we  mean  to  have  a  French  one' ;  but  what  was  my  aston- 
ishment, on  opening  the  paper,  to  find  him  called  'Gilbert 
Webb,  harbor-master's  assistant,  hereby  authorized  by  the 
Admiralty  Court,  sitting  in  Cape  Town,  to  take  charge  of 
the  doubtful  vessel  described  in  her  papers  as  the  "Ludovico," 
belonging  to  Monte  Video — from  the  officer  commanding  the 
prize  crew  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  "Hebe." '  My  first 
thought  was  to  have  Mr.  Gilbert  Webb  pitched  over  into  his 
boat  again,  when  Lord  Frederick's  own  signature  met  my  eye 
at  the  bottom  of  the  paper,  addressed  below  to  'Lieutenant 
Collins,  of  his  Majesty's  schooner  "Aniceia"  at  sea. 

"A  wonderfully  mysterious  squint  from  Snelling,  behind 
the  officer,  was  sufficient  to  clinch  the  matter  in  my  own 
mind,  showing  that  the  reefer  was  sharp  as  a  needle;  and 
I  handed  back  the  document  to  the  harbor  gentleman,  with 
a  'Very  well,  sir,  that  will  do.'  'I  suppose  I'd  better  have 


316  THE  GREEN  HAND 

my  men  up,  Lieutenant  Collins?'  said  he,  with  a  quick,  pert 
kind  of  accent,  which  made  me  set  him  down  at  once  for  a 
Londoner,  while  at  the  same  time  he  seemed  impatient,  as  I 
thought,  to  get  the  management.  'Why,  sir,'  said  I,  'I 
suppose  you  had.' 

"Hereupon  up  mounted  four  or  five  decent  enough  looking 
stevedores* — one  or  two  of  whom  had  rather  the  air  of  sailors, 
the  rest  being  broad-beamed,  short-legged  Dutchmen,  with 
trousers  like  pillow-slips — followed  by  a  whole  string  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  Indian  Lascars,  their  bundles  in  their 
hands,  and  an  ugly  old  serang  at  their  head;  while  a  lame, 
broken-down,  debauched-like  fellow  of  a  man-o'-war's-man, 
that  Snelling  had  found  sitting  on  a  timberhead  ashore,  got 
aboard  with  our  own  boat's  crew.  Our  gangway  was  choke- 
f ul,  to  my  fresh  dismay,  for  to  get  rid  of  such  a  tagrag-and- 
bobtail,  in  case  of  running  to  sea,  was  impossible;  even  if 
they  were  n't  odds  against  us,  here  was  it  likely  to  get  a  thick 
night,  the  swell  growing  under  the  schooner  till  she  began 
to  jerk  at  her  anchor,  head  to  wind,  like  a  young  filly  at 
a  manger;  so  that  dropping  them  back  into  their  boat 
when  needful,  as  I  intended  at  first,  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion for  the  present.  I  found  from  the  harbor  officer 
that  the  number  of  hands  would  all  be  required  with  the 
morning  tide,  when  his  orders  were  to  have  the  schooner 
towed  in  opposite  the  Battery  Dock,  especially  as  there  was 
much  chance  of  the  wind  blowing  strong  from  seaward  next 
day.  The  swell  on  the  water,  he  said,  was  such  that,  after 
putting  off,  he  thought  of  going  back  again  till  the  tide  began 
to  turn ;  if  he  had  not  been  encouraged  to  stick  to  it  and  keep 
on  by  the  midshipman,  whom  he  fell  in  with  near  the  quay. 
This  piece  of  news  was  the  finish  to  the  rage  I  felt  brewing  in 
me,  vexed  as  I  naturally  was  to  give  up  the  notion  of  a  free 
cruise,  in  command  of  a  craft  like  the  schooner ;  and,  as  soon 
as  Mr.  Webb  was  comfortable  in  the  cabin,  over  a  tumbler  of 
stiff  grog  and  some  cold  beef,  I  sent  for  Snelling  to  my  own 
cupboai'd  of  a  stateroom. 

"  *You  cursed  unlucky  little  imp,  you !'  I  burst  out,  the 
moment  he  made  his  appearance,  'what 's  the  meaning  of  this, 
sirrah,  eh?'  'What  is  it,  if  you  please,  sir?'  said  Snelling, 
pretending  to  hold  down  his  shock-head  like  a  frightened 
schoolboy,  and  looking  up  all  the  time  both  at  me  and  the 
lamp  at  once,  while  he  swayed  with  the  uneasy  heave  of  the 
deck  in  such  a  way  as  made  me  grip  him  by  the  arm  in  a 
perfect  fury,  fancying  he  had  got  drunk  ashore.  'You  young 

•Men  employed  in  the  stowing  Of  ships'  cargoes. 


THE  GREEN  HAND 

blackguard,  you!'  said  I,  shaking  him,  'didn't  I  tell  you  to 
get  hands— did  n't  you  know  1  meant  to — to —  'Oh  yes, 
Mr.  Collins,'  gasped  the  reefer,  'I  did  indeed — you  meant  to 
cut  and  run — I  saw  it  by  your  eye,  sir,  and — don't  shake  me 
any  more,  sir,  or  you  '11  spoil  my  hair — and  I  don't  deserve  it 
— it 's — all  right !'  And  on  my  letting  him  go,  the  ugly  little 
scamp  sunk  down  on  a  chair  with  his  eyes  starting  from  his 
head,  and  a  leer  like  a  perfect  demon  incarnate:  but  so  per- 
fectly laughable  it  was,  not  to  mention  the  air  of  complete 
confidence  between  us  that  he  threw  into  it,  that  I  sat  down 
myself,  ready  to  grin  at  my  bad  luck.  'Well,  Mister  Snelling,' 
said  I  quietly,  'you  are  a  touch  beyond  me !  Let 's  have  the 
joke,  at  least — out  with  it,  man,  else  another  shake  may 
be ' 

"The  reefer  pointed  with  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder  to 
the  cabin,  shoved  his  chin  forward,  and  whispered,  'Why,  sir, 
I  'm  only  doubtful  whether  you  could  make  him  third  officer 
— but  at  any  rate,  he  '11  always  be  useful  at  a  rope,  Mr.  Col- 
lins— won't  he,  sir  ?'  I  gave  Snelling  one  look,  meant  to  be  as 
grave  as  an  Old  Bailey  chaplain's,  but  it  would  n't  do — my 
conscience  would  n't  stand  it — in  fact  the  very  self -same 
notion  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  creeping  into  my  mind. 
'You — young — rascal!'  was  all  I  could  manage  to  say,  before 
making  bolt  to  go  on  deck.  'By  the  bye,  Mister  Snelling,' 
said  I,  turning  and  looking  down  from  the  hatchway,  'you 
must  want  a  glass  of  grog — tell  the  boy  to  let  you  have  some 
— and  go  and  keep  the  officer  company,  sir.' 

"By  this  time  it  was  raining  hard,  the  half-moon  coming 
out  at  moments  and  shining  through  it  with  a  sudden  sharp 
gleam,  in  some  gust  of  the  wind  off  the  land — showing  the 
swell  in  as  far  as  the  wet  white  custom-house  and  the  bare 
quays,  the  ships  with  their  hazy  lights  all  hither  and  thither, 
while  Table  Mountain  was  to  be  seen  now  and  then  peering 
half  over  the  mist,  first  one  corner  and  then  another,  of  a 
color  like  dead  ashes.  One  time  I  looked  down  toward  the 
dusky  little  cabin,  where  the  midshipman,  quite  in  his  ele- 
ment, was  sitting  with  the  harbor  officer,  the  lamp  jerking 
and  making  wild  swings  betwixt  them,  while  Snelling  evi- 
dently egged  on  his  companion  to  drink ;  then  I  gave  a  glance 
seaward,  where  there  was  nothing  but  a  glimmer  of  rain  and 
spray  along  the  dark  hollows  of  the  water. 

"I  could  n't  make  up  my  mind,  all  I  could  do^— it  was  too 
barefaced  a  thing  to  slip  from  the  roadstead  with  a  breeze 
blowing  off-shore ;  but  the  worst  of  it  was,  that  I  did  n't  feel 
easy  at  the  idea  of  parting  with  an  anchor  in  the  circum- 


3i8  THE  GREEN  HAND 

stances,  not  to  say  carrying  off  the  Government  people,  unless 
forced  to  it.  I  accordingly  went  below  to  mix  myself  a 
stiffener,  and  found  the  officer  a  cool  head,  for,  in  spite  of  all 
Snelling  could  do,  the  reefer  himself  had  got  provoked, 
whereas  the  sharp  Mr.  Webb  was  only  a  little  brisker  than 
before.  'A  rough  sort  of  night,'  said  I,  nodding  to  him,  as  i 
knocked  the  water  out  of  my  cap.  'Well,  it  seems,'  said  he, 
free  and  easy.  'S'pose  I  go  on  deck  then,  gentlemen — I  've 
refreshed,  I  assure  you,  so  you  need  n't  trouble  about  this  'ere 
schooner  no  farther — glad  to  get  quit  of  it  and  turn  in,  I 
desay,  lieutenant?'  'No  trouble  in  the  world,  Mr.  Webb,' 
said  I,  going  on  with  my  mixture,  'far  from  it ;  but  sit  down 
a  minute,  pray  sir — Mr.  Snelling  here  will  take  charge  of  the 
deck  for  us  in  the  meantime' ;  and  Snelling  vanished  at  once, 
Mr.  Webb  apparently  nattered  at  my  wishing  his  company. 
'Will  that  cable  of  yours  hold,  think  ye,  Lieutenant  Collins  ?' 
asked  he,  filling  up  another  glass.  'Why,'  said  I,  almost 
laughing,  'to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  begin  to  feel  rather  doubtful 
of  it.'  'What !'  broke  out  the  harbor  officer,  starting  up, 
'then  I  must  'ave  another  put  down  immediately:  why, 
what 's  the  effect,  sir — we  '11  be  carried  out  to  sea!'  'You  said 
it  exactly,  Mr.  Webb,'  I  said :  '  't  would  have  been  much 
worse,  I  suppose,  if  we  were  driven  ashore,  though !  Now  look 
you,  if  I  were  to  let  go  a  second  anchor  at  present,  I  could  n't 
light  upon  a  better  plan  either  to  break  her  back  or  lose  both 
anchors  in  the  end,  from  the  difference  of  strain  on  the  two 
cables  with  this  ground-swell.  The  fact  is,  my  good  fellow, 
you  're  evidently  not  fit  to  take  charge  at  present.' 

u  'What,  lieutenant !'  said  he,  looking  fierce  and  foolish  at 
the  same  time,  'here  's  strange  lang'age  to  a  Gov'ment  officer, 
sir ;  I  hask  the  meanin'  of  it  at  once,  mister !'  'But  I  depend 
a  good  deal  on  your  knowledge  of  Table  Bay  weather,'  I  con- 
tinued, leaning  back  with  my  weather  eye  screwed  to  bear 
upon  him.  'D'  ye  think  this  wind  likely  to  moderate  soon, 
sir  ?  come  now.'  'No,'  replied  he  sulkily,  'I  'm  sure  it  won't ; 
and  to-morrow  it 's  certain  to  blow  back  ten  times  worse.' 
'Then,  Mr.  Webb,'  said  I,  rising,  'you  ought  n't  to  have  come 
aboard  to-night;  as  the  short  and  the  long  of  it  is,  I  shall  get 
the  schooner  an  offing  the  first  possible  moment !'  The  officer 
stared  at  me  in  a  bewildered  manner ;  and  as  for  the  schooner, 
she  seemed  to  be  bolting  and  pitching  in  a  way  worse  than 
before,  with  now  and  then  a  plunge  of  the  swell  on  her  broad- 
side, as  if  she  had  been  under  way.  Suddenly  Snelling 
lifted  the  skylight-frame  and  screamed  down  into  the  cabin: 


A  SEA  STORY  319 

'Mr.  Collins,  Mr.  Collins !  she  's  been  dragging  her  anchor  for 
the  last  ten  minutes,  sir!' 

"I  sprang  on  deck  at  two  bounds;  the  schooner  had  some- 
how or  other  got  her  anchor  out  of  hold  at  the  time,  with  the 
cable  as  taut  as  a  fiddle-string.  It  was  quite  dark  aloft,  and 
not  a  vestige  of  Table  Mountain  to  be  seen,  though  the 
moonshine,  low  down  to  westward,  brought  out  two  or 
three  tracks  of  light  along  the  stretch  of  water,  and  you  saw 
the  lights  in  the  ships  slowly  sweeping  past.  Where  we  hap- 
pened to  be,  it  blew  two  ways  at  once,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
Table  Bay,  round  the  bluffs  of  the  mountain,  and  as  soon 
as  she  brought  up  again  with  a  surge  at  the  windlass,  the 
heave  of  a  long  swell  took  her  right  on  the  quarter,  lifting 
her  iu  to  her  anchor  again  with  a  slack  of  the  hawser,  at 
which  every  second  man  sung  out  to  'hold  on!'  Over  she 
went  to  port,  a  sea  washing  up  the  starboard  side,  and 
throwing  a  few  dozen  bucketfuls  at  once  fair  into  the  com- 
panion, where  our  friend  the  harbor  officer  was  sticking  at 
the  time;  so  down  plumped  Mr.  Webb  along  with  it,  and  the 
booby  hatch  was  shoved  close  after  him,  while  the  poor  devils 
of  Lascars  were  huddled  together  as  wet  as  swabs  in  the  lee 
of  the  caboose  forward.  'A  hand  to  the  wheel!'  shouted  I, 
as  soon  as  I  recovered  myself;  when  to  my  great  surprise  1 
saw  Snelling's  new  hand,  poor  creature  as  I  'd  thought  him, 
standing  with  a  spoke  in  each  fist,  as  cool  and  steady  as  pos- 
sible, and  his  eye  fixed  on  me  in  the  true  knowing  way  which 
I  felt  could  be  trusted  to.  'Jib  there!'  I  sung  out,  'see  all 
clear  to  run  up  a  few  hanks  of  the  jib — stand  by  to  cut  the 
cable  at  the  bitts!'  'Ay,  ay,  sir/  answered  Snelling,  who 
was  working  away  with  the  harbor  men,  his  bare  head 
soaked,  and  altogether  more  like  an  imp  than  a  young  gentle- 
man of  the  navy — 'all 's  clear,  sir.' 

"Five  minutes  I  dare  say  we  stood,  every  one  in  the  same 
position,  while  I  waited  for  a  good  moment  in  the  run  of  tho 
swell  looking  into  the  binnacle;  till  she  hung  slack,  as  it 
were,  in  a  wide  seething  trough  of  the  sea,  when  I  signed  to 
the  man  behind  me  to  put  the  helm  gradually  to  starboard. 
I  glanced  at  the  fellow  again,  caught  his  sharp  weatherly  eye 
once  more — then  putting  both  hands  to  my  mouth  I  sung  out 
to  bowse  on  the  jib-halyards.  'Now — cut — the  cable !'  shouted 
I,  springing  forward  in  my  anxiety. 

"The  schooner  rose  away  from  her  anchor  on  the  heavy  roll 
of  the  sea;  I  saw  two  quick  strokes  of  the  axe  on  the  instant, 
and  she  was  spinning  head  off  from  the  wind,  heeling  over 
betwixt  the  force  of  it  and  the  ground-swell  together,  while 


32o  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  mass  of  black  water  was  washing  bodily  away  with  us; 
the  new  helmsman  showing  down  below  me  as  he  leaned  to 
the  wheel,  like  somebody  at  the  foot  of  a  slide.  If  he  had  n't 
helped  her  at  the  moment  with  a  back  turn  of  the  spokes  to 
port,  '  twould  have  been  all  up  with  us.  As  it  was,  the 
schooner  fell  off  gallantly  in  his  hands,  with  a  sliding  surge 
into  the  lee  of  the  next  swell,  that  buried  her  sharp  bows  in 
the  green  sea  till  it  foamed  about  our  very  shoulders  as  we 
hung  on  like  grim  death  to  the  weather  bulwark.  She  was 
just  shaking  herself  free,  and  rising  like  a  buoy  over  the 
broad  tops  of  the  waves,  when  Snelling,  myself,  and  two  or 
three  of  the  men  staggered  down  to  her  mainmast  to  swing  up 
the  throat-halyards,  letting  her  feel  a  little  of  the  boom  main- 
sail; and  we  had  scarce  belayed,  as  the  last  glimpse  of  the 
frigate's  lights  was  caught  astern  of  us,  heaving  and  setting, 
as  she  rode  with  her  two  bower  anchors  down ;  we  had  driven 
past  close  enough  to  have  heard  the  creak  of  her  hamper 
aloft.  After  that  I  had  the  fore-staysail  set  on  her,  then  the 
reefed  mainsail,  and  the  lively  schooner  yielded  to  the  long 
rolling  seas  so  well,  as  very  soon  to  make  her  own  weather  of 
it,  especially  since — clear  of  the  high  land  about  Table  Bay — 
it  was  blowing  only  a  strong  breeze;  and  the  more  I  began  to 
feel  master  of  her,  the  more  inclined  I  was  to  let  her  show  her 
good  qualities. 

"Such  a  craft  I  never  had  had  the  full  management  of 
before  in  my  life;  and  you  may  easily  fancy  how  I  felt  at 
dividing  the  hands  into  the  two  watches,  giving  little  Snelling 
command  of  one,  as  first  mate,  and  picking  out  our  men  in 
turn.  I  looked  round  amongst  mine,  rather  at  a  loss  for  one 
to  make  second  mate  for  the  cruise,  though  there  were  three 
prime  enough  man-o'-war's-men,  and  I  had  chosen  one  of  the 
Government  officer's  gang  for  his  activity.  As  for  the  Lascars, 
we  slumped  in  half  the  number  to  each  of  us,  for  make- 
weights— when  Snelling's  fresh  hand,  who  had  fallen  to  my 
share,  caught  my  eye  again  as  he  stood  at  the  wheel.  Every 
half -spoke  he  gave  the  schooner  told;  she  was  topping  the 
heavy  seas  as  they  rose,  and  taking  them  just  where  they 
melted  one  to  the  other,  with  a  long  floating  cleave  that 
carried  her  counter  fairly  free  of  the  after-run,  though  nearly 
right  before  the  wind:  the  main-boom  had  been  guyed  over 
to  the  lee-quarter,  till  a  third  of  the  sail  hung  clear  of  her 
hull,  and  the  breeze  swept  into  the  hollow  of  it,  thick  with 
spray.  The  light  from  the  little  binnacle  shone  up  distinctly 
on  the  man's  face,  and  with  all  the  desperate,  used-up,  mar- 
bled sort  of  look  of  it,  like  one  getting  the  better  of  a  long 


A  SEA  STORY  321 

spree  ashore,  I  thought  there  was  something  uncommonly 
promising  about  him,  not  to  say  greatly  above  the  run  of  fore- 
mast men.  The  wet,  the  wind,  and  the  work  he  was  at  took 
off  the  seediness  of  his  clothes ;  even  the  old  rag  of  a  handker- 
chief round  his  hairy  neck  had  got  a  gloss  to  it,  and  he  stood 
handling  the  wheel  with  a  strange  mixture  of  recklessness 
and  care,  as  he  glanced  from  the  compass  to  the  gaff  of  the 
mainsail  against  the  scud,  and  down  again. 

"The  very  contrast  between  the  man's  manner  and  his  out- 
ward rig  was  sufficient  to  strike  one,  though  plenty  of  seamen 
are  to  be  found  in  the  like  state  ashore :  but  what  fixed  me  to 
him  above  all  was  the  expression  in  those  two  keen,  searching, 
living  eyes  of  his,  when  they  once  or  twice  met  mine  on  their 
way  from  aloft  to  the  campass-boxes.  'T  was  as  if  they  'd  woke 
up  since  he  came  aboard  out  of  a  sleepy,  maudlin  condition, 
with  the  'blue-devils,'  or  scarce  fully  out  of  'em;  like  a  sick 
man's  in  the  lull  of  a  fever,  suddenly  seen  watching  you  out 
of  the  dusk  of  the  bed,  when  one  happens  to  glance  up  from 
the  nurse's  seat. 

"  'What 's  your  name,  my  man  ?'  asked  I,  stepping  aft  to 
the  binnacle.  'My  name  is  Jones,  sir,'  said  he  readily.  'And 
your  first  name?'  I  said.  'Jack,'  was  the  answer  in  an  off- 
hand way,  with  a  hitch  of  one  shoulder,  and  a  weather- 
spoke  to  the  wheel;  spoken  in  an  accent  you'd  have  ex- 
pected more  in  a  West-End  drawing-room  than  from  a 
common  sailor.  'Ah,'  said  I,  sharply.  'Jack  Jones?  1 
wonder  how  many  Jack  Joneses  there  are  afloat!  An  able 
seaman,  I  think,  Jones?'  'Why,  sir,'  replied  the  man,  '1 
never  rate  myself,  sir — 'tis  all  one  to  me,  able,  ordinary, 
landsman,  or  boy — I  carry  no  papers,  and  leave  my  betters 
to  rate  me.'  'Where  were  you  last,  my  man?'  I  asked; 
whereupon  I  met  such  a  cool,  steady,  deep  look  out  of  the 
fellow's  strange  light-colored  eyes,  bloodshot  as  they  were 
with  drinking,  that  I  felt  almost  our  very  two  souls  jostle 
in  it;  as  much  as  to  say:  To  all  eternity  fathom  me  if 
ye  can!  'Well,  I  forget  where,  sir,'  said  he,  lowering  his 
look  to  the  compass-box  again;  'always  the  way  with  me 
after  a  trip,  a  cruise,  a  voyage,  or  whatever  it  may  be. 
I've  got — ha!'  and  he  yielded  his  body  coolly  to  a  jerk  of  the 
schooner's  wheel.  'A  sweet  craft  this,  sir,  but  a  little  tick- 
lish !'  'You  've  got  what  ?'  said  I,  not  unwilling  to  wear  out 
the  time.  'I  've  got — no  memory !' 

"Still  there  was  somewhat  so  gloomy  and  mournful  in 
the  next  glance  aloft,  I  don't  know  how  it  was,  but  I  felt 
inclined  to  offer  him  a  mate's  place  on  trial,  and  so  I  hinted, 
if  he  knew  half  as  well  how  to  handle  a  craft  as  he  did 


322  THE  GREEN.  HAND 

of  steering  her.  To  my  own  surprise,  Jones's  wonder 
did  n't  seem  to  be  roused  at  the  notion,  except  that  he 
gave  me  another  quick  glance  from  head  to  foot,  with  a 
queer  smile  that  struck  me  as  if  I  were  being  questioned, 
instead  of  him;ihcn  he  looked  down  over  his  own  outfit,judg- 
ing  by  which  you  'd  have  said  he  'd  been  shipwrecked.  'Well,' 
said  I,  'I  dare  say  you  've  been  hard  put  to  it,  somehow,  Jones 
— so  as  soon  as  you  leave  the  wheel,  you  can  go  below  to  the 
steward,  and  get  a  sea-going  suit  of  my  own,  till  we  see  Cal- 
cutta, when  your  mate's  wages  will  set  you  all  right  again/ 
The  man  touched  his  battered  old  straw  hat;  but  I  noticed 
his  eyes  gleam  for  a  moment  by  the  binnacle  light,  and  a 
strange  twitch  run  round  his  mouth  at  the  mention  of  tho 
mate's  wages,  the  only  way  I  could  account  for  it  at  the 
time  being  his  late  hard-up  condition;  and  nothing  to  my 
mind  was  more  deucedly  pitiable  than  to  see  the  thought 
of  a  few  paltry  additional  rupees  light  up  a  head  like  that, 
with  the  glistening  sort  of  expression  of  a  miser  as  I  fancied. 

"The  man  had  a  head  on  him,  in  fact,  when  you  eyed 
him,  fit  for  a  gentleman's  shoulders,  or  more — his  hair  and 
his  whiskers  curly  and  dark,  draggled  though  they  were 
with  the  rain,  not  to  say  Cape  Town  mud — while  the  wear- 
ing away  of  the  hair  about  the  temples,  and  the  red  grog- 
streaks  in  the  veins  of  his  face,  made  him,  no  doubt,  a 
dozen  years  older  to  appearance  than  he  was.  For  my  part 
I  was  quite  convinced  already,  this  same  Jack  Jones  had  n't 
been  sent  out  a  cabin  boy;  there  was  not  only  a  touch  of 
high  blood  in  him  at  bottom,  but  I  'd  have  sworn  he  had 
been  some  time  or  other  in  the  place  of  a  gent1  email, 
afloat  or  ashore,  though  plainly  now  'going  to  the  devil.' 

"Meanwhile  the  breaking  look  of  the  clouds  away  on  our 
larboard  bow  showed  it  was  n't  far  off  dawn ;  so,  sending 
another  hand  to  the  wheel,  and  finding  a  snug  spot  under 
a  stern-grating  for  a  snooze  on  deck,  I  told  Jones  to  begin 
with  taking  charge  of  the  deck  for  me.  'One  thing,  sir,' 
said  he,  touching  his  hat  again,  as  I  lay  down,  'I  've  only 
shipped  for  the  outward  voyage,  and  leave  at  the  first  port.' 
'Why,  what!'  said  I,  lifting  my  head;  'what  do  you  mean  to 
do  there,  eh  ?'  'I — I  want  to  go  ashore,'  answered  he,  eagerly ; 
'ay,  if  we  're  years  on  the  cruise,  so  much  the  better,  sir,  but 
so  soon  as  she  drops  anchor  off  Calcutta,  I  'm  my  own 
master?'  'Have  your  own  way,  then,'  said  I;  'at  any  rate 
I  '11  try  you  in  the  meantime — so  Mister  Jones,  let 's  see  how 
you  mind  the  schooner  till  eight  bells !'  Whereupon  I  turned 
myself  over  to  sleep,  and  it  was  as  broad  daylight  as  we  had 
any  likelihood  of  about  the  Cape,  when  I  woke. 


A  SEA  STORY  323 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

"!T  still  blew  a  stiff  breeze,  but  the  waves  rose  with  a  length 
and  a  breadth  in  them  you  find  in  no  other  sea;  deep-blue 
sparkling  hills  of  water,  with  green  gleams  about  the  crests, 
of  which  every  single  wave  had  a  hundred  or  so;  and  a 
long,  seething,  simmering,  glassy  hollow  of  a  still  valley  be- 
tween, where  the  flecks  of  foam  slid  away  glittering  out  of 
the  shadow.  But,  oh!  it  was  glorious  to  feel  the  schooner 
rising  quietly  in  the  trough,  with  the  mount  of  a  wave, 
to  the  very  ridge  of  it;  then  with  a  creak  of  all  her  timbers 
and  bulkheads  below,  a  slight  shake  to  windward,  and  a 
jerk  at  her  bows,  lean  over  to  leeward  again,  and  go  hissing 
through  the  breast  of  a  huge  sea,  till  you  thought  she'd  go 
down  into  it;  while  there  she  was,  however,  lifting  head 
up,  with  a  swift  flash  of  her  cut-water,  on  the  cross  half- 
wave  that  joined  every  first  and  third  one — 'billow'  and 
'sea/  as  you  may  say.  The  breeze  having  drawn  more 
easterly  toward  morning,  Jones  had  braced  her  more  upon 
a  wind,  with  a  reefed  main  and  fore  sails  and  fore-staysail 
set,  which  brought  out  the  'AnicetaV  weatherly  qualities 
to  a  marvel,  as,  notwithstanding  almost  a  head-wind  and 
a  swelling  sea,  she  went  nearly  as  fast  as  the  frigate  would 
have  done  before  the  breeze,  and  not  a  sign  of  the  land 
was  to  be  seen  from  her  cross-trees. 

"It  was  not  till  the  afternoon,  when  the  midshipman  and 
I  had  both  been  busy  together  seeing  various  things  done 
about  the  rigging,  as  well  as  having  preventer-braces  and 
guys  clapped  on  the  booms  and  gaffs,  that  we  had  time  to 
look  about  us;  the  schooner  still  driving  along  with  the 
breeze  strong  abeam,  and  a  floating  plunge  from  one  wide 
dark-blue  sea  to  another,  as  if  they  handed  her  onward. 

"Jones  had  got  himself  made  decent  below,  as  I  told  him, 
till  what  with  different  clothes,  and  a  shave  together,  be- 
sides refreshment  from  sea  weather,  he  was  quite  a  different 
man  to  look  at.  Even  Snelling  owned  to  his  sailor-like 
appearance,  though  rather  surprised  at  my  notion  of  making 
him  a  mate ;  while  as .  for  the  men,  they  did  n't  know  but 
he  had  come  aboard  as  such,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  he  was 
having  the  main-staysail  got  up  and  ready  to  bend  at  the 
time,  like  one  accustomed  to  give  orders.  By  this  time  1 
remembered  the  harbor  officer,  Webb,  whom  we  'd  carried  off 
so  unceremoniously,  and  found  he  was  still  in  his  'bunk7 


324  THE  GREEN  HAND 

below,  half-sulky  and  half-sick,  consoling  himself  with 
brandy  and  water  till  we  should  get  into  Table  Bay  again,  as 
he  said.  'Only  put  him  into  my  watch,  Mr.  Collins,'  said 
Snelling,  gravely,  'and  I'll  work  him  up,  sir.'  The  reefer 
himself,  in  fact,  had  all  of  a  sudden  turned  out  in  a 
laughably  dignified  style,  to  meet  his  new  post — in  full 
midshipman's  rig,  dirk  and  all,  with  his  cocked  hat,  which 
I  sent  him  down  immediately  to  change;  but  he  had  brushed 
up  his  mop  of  hair,  and  begun  to  cultivate  the  down  on 
his  upper  lip;  while  being  a  deep-shouldered,  square-built, 
short-armed  little  fellow,  as  muscular  as  a  monkey,  you  'd 
have  thought  from  the  back  of  his  coat  he  was  a  man  cut 
shorter,  and  for  his  face,  he  had  contrived  to  put  such  a 
sour  effect  into  it — meant  for  great  experience,  no  doubt — 
that  it  was  only  by  his  eyes  one  saw  he  was  a  boy  of  six- 
teen or  so;  and  they  were  brimful  of  wild  glee,  as  he  jumped 
about  wherever  he  was  needed,  doing  the  work  of  a  couple 
of  ordinary  men,  and  actually  delighted  when  a  spray 
came  over  the  weather  bulwarks  on  top  of  him,  seeing  that, 
instead  of  the  frigate,  she  was  'our  schooner'  that  did  it. 

"  'I  think  she  walks,  Mr.  Collins !'  observed  Snelling, 
holding  up  his  head  stiffly,  and  looking  aloft  as  we  went  aft, 
after  shaking  ourselves  from  one  of  these  same  sprays.  'No 
denying  that,  Mr.  Snelling,'  said  I,  as  gravely;  'I  only  wish 
your  fond  parents  could  see  you  just  now,  first  mate  of 
such  a  smart  craft,  Mr.  Snelling!'  His  father  was  a  coun- 
try baronet,  who  had  sent  him  off  to  sea  with  an  allow- 
ance— I  dare  say  because  his  looks  were  no  ornament,  and 
there  were  plenty  more  coming,  though  Snelling  always 
pretended  his  worthy  progenitor  was  an  old  man.  'Fond, 
be  blowed!'  said  he,  starting;  'I  just  see  him  at  this  mo- 
ment at  the  foot  of  that  blessed  old  mahogany,  proposing 

my  health  before  the  ladies  go,  and '  here  the  schooner 

rose  on  a  sharp,  short  wave,  making  a  plunge  through  it 
that  sent  the  helmsman  swinging  to  the  lee-side  of  the 
wheel,  while  a  sea  washed  up  over  her  forecastle,  and 
away  aft  with  the  tubs,  buckets,  and  spars,  knocking  every- 
body right  and  left.  Snelling  and  1  held  on  by  the  weather 
main-rigging  with  our  feet  in  a  bath,  till  she  lifted  bodily 
through  it,  careering  to  her  lee-gun'ale. 

"'By  George,  though!'  broke  out  the  reefer,  smacking  his 
lips  as  we  drew  breath,  'I  wish  he  did  see  me — would  n't  it 
cheer  his  declining  years,  when  I  'd  got  to  hand  the  gov- 
ernor carefully  below !  And  such  a  rough  night  as  we  're 
going  to  have  cf  it,  too,  sir!'  'You  unfilial  young  dog,' 


A  SEA  STORY  325 

said  I;  'but  so  I'm  afraid  we  shall — and  no  joke,  either!' 
Jones  was  standing  near  us,  watching  the  looks  of  the 
weather,  with  evident  uneasiness,  and  I  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  it.  'In  my  opinion,  sir,'  said  he,  'you  '11  have 
some  pretty  sudden  shift  of  wind  ere  long,  of  a  kind  I  have 
seen  more  than  once  off  the  Cape  before — and  that  as  furious 
as  a  south-easter  ordinarily  is  hereabouts.  Look  away  yon- 
der,, sir !' 

"It  had  got  to  a  clear,  dry  north-easterly  gale  that  shook 
our  canvas  every  time  she  lifted,  singing  through  the  ropes, 
and  bitter  cold.  Long  and  heavy  as  the  roll  of  the  sea  was, 
the  sky  was  as  keen  and  clear  as  glass  all  round  about  and 
aloft,  save  the  mist  kicked  up  by  the  spray  off  a  wave  here 
and  there.  If  a  rag  of  white  cloud  appeared,  it  was  blown 
away,  and  you  saw  the  black,  wrinkled  side  of  one  wave  at 
a  time,  a  mile  wide,  you  'd  have  said,  freckled  all  over  with 
spots  of  foam,  and  its  ridge  heaving  against  the  eye  of 
the  blast.  The  waves  had  begun  to  break  shorter.  The 
schooner,  buoyant  as  she  was,  and  sharp  as  a  dolphin, 
pitched  and  rolled  at  times  like  mad,  and  the  men  for- 
ward were  standing  by  to  let  go  the  fore-halyards,  throat 
and  peak,  to  ease  her  a  little;  when  Jones  pointed  out  the 
bank  of  gray  cloud  ahead  of  us,  scarce  to  be  seen  through 
the  troughs  of  the  water,  except  when  she  lifted  well  upon  a 
swell  of  sea.  The  sun  going  down  in  a  wild  red  glare  to 
leeward  of  us,  threw  a  terrible  glitter  across  the  huge 
slant  of  one  single  wave,  that  rose  stretching  away  far  and 
wide  from  her  very  bow,  then  brought  out  the  sulky  wrin- 
kled blue  in  it;  the  hissing  green  crests  curled  over  to  the 
very  sunset,  as  it  were,  while  we  sunk  slowly  into  the 
long  dark  lulling  trough,  and  saw  the  broken  shaft  of  a 
rainbow  stand  glimmering  for  a  moment  or  two  into  a 
black  hollow  right  ahead,  when  the  gale  drove  it  back 
upon  us  like  an  arrow,  as  the  schooner  surged  through  tho 
breast  of  the  next  wave.  I  looked  from  Snelling  to  the  new 
mate,  who  still  held  on  by  a  belaying-pin  and  watched 
the  clouds,  giving  me  back  a  glance  that  showed  he  thought 
the  matter  more  serious  than  ordinary.  'The  sooner  wo 
strip  her  to  the  storm-staysails,'  said  I,  quickly,  as^  we  fell 
into  the  trough  again,  'the  better,  I  think.  If  it  blows 
harder,  we  must  lie-to  with  her  at  once.'  My  eye  was 
anxiously  fixed  on  Jones,  for  large  as  the  schooner  was,  be- 
tween two  and  three  hundred  tons,  yet  no  craft  in  the  world 
is  so  nice  to  bring  to  the  wind  in  a  gale  with  a  heavy 
sea  running.  Scudding  before  it  might  have  done  for  the 


326  THE  GREEN  HAND 

frigate,  with  her  full  bows,  and  spars  high  enough  to  keep 
her  main-topsail  full  in  spite  of  the  troughs;  but  even  that 
would  have  taken  us  out  of  our  course  after  the  Indiaman. 
Besides  that,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  didn't  sufficiently  under- 
stand fore-and-aft  rigged  craft  in  all  weathers  yet,  to  be 
quite  sure  of  what  I  did  at  a  pinch  like  the  present.  'Yes, 
yes,  sir,'  answered  he;  'but  if  you'll  take  an  older  man's 
advice,  before  that  you  '11  wear  her  round  on  the  other 
tack  to  it.  We  've  the  worst  to  come,  or  else  I  'm  mistaken, 
sir.'  'You're  accustomed  to  schooners  f  asked  1,  firmly, 
and  gazing  him  in  the  face. 

"I  saw  his  lips  open  in  the  sweep  of  the  wind  tnrough 
our  after-rigging,  and  he  made  a  sign  with  his  hand,  while 
a  gnawing  sort  of  spasm,  as  it  were,  shot  through  the  muscles 
of  his  jaw,  and  for  a  moment  he  gave  me  a  fierce,  keen 
glance,  almost  a  glare,  from  under  his  strong,  straight  eye- 
brows— then  turned  away.  'Take  the  trumpet  then,  Mr. 
Jones/  said  I,  singing  out  into  his  ear;  'I'll  leave  her  to 
you,  sir.  Mr.  Snelling,  let's  sea  the  hatches  all  fast!' 
And  we  scrambled  along  by  the  belaying-pins. 

"  'Are  you  all  ready  fore  and  aft  ?'  came  Jones's  voice,  like 
thunder  in  the  next  dip  she  made,  and  he  leaped  up  bare- 
headed on  the  breech  of  one  of  the  small  carronades  aft, 
holding  on  with  one  hand  by  the  weather  mainshrouds,  and 
watching  the  run  of  the  waves  as  they  glimmered  off  our 
lee-beam  into  the  dusk,  for  full  five  minutes.  I  had  hold  of 
a  rope  near  him,  and  his  eye  was  as  steady  as  if  he  were 
picking  out  hills  in  a  view.  I  had  full  confidence  in  the 
man;  but  I  must  say  it  was  a  nervous  moment  to  me,  when 
I  saw  him  lift  the  trumpet  to  his  mouth — and  furiously  as 
the  wind  shook  the  schooner,  you  heard  his  hoarse  cry, 
'Put  your  helm  up — slack  off  the  mainsheet — brail  up  the 
mainsail — ease  down  the  weather  boom-guy — main-staysail 
sheet.'  And  the  rest  was  lost  in  the  wild  shriek  of  the 
north-east  gale.  We  were  hard  at  it,  however,  staggering  as 
we  hauled  and  held  on,  even  to  the  poor  half -drowned,  terri- 
fied Lascars,  whom  the  midshipman  had  roused  out  of  the 
caboose  and  long-boat,  shoving  the  ropes  into  their  leathery 
hands.  But  I  knew  little  else  till  I  saw  the  schooner  had 
payed  off  before  the  wind,  shearing  with  a  hiss  like  red- 
hot  iron  right  through  the  ridge,  betwixt  two  tremendous 
combing  waves.  It  swelled  green  over  her  larboard  bul- 
wark as  she  heeled  over,  and  she  gave  a  heavy  dead  lurch 
with  it,  as  if  she  would  let  the  next  sea  break  aboard. 
"'Now!  now!'  shouted  Jonesa  at  a  pitch  of  voice  like  no 


A  SEA  STORY  327 

earthly  sound;  'aft  the  mainsheet,  for  your  lives!'  He 
jumped  to  the  wheel  himself,  at  a  single  bound.  We  were 
in  two  floundering  heaps,  as  we  dragged  at  the  main-boom 
aft,  and  the  head-sheets  on  the  forecastle,  while  she  came 
trembling  up  in  the  long  bight  of  the  sea,  and  took  the 
gale  steadily  before  her  other  beam.  It  was  blowing  harder 
than  ever;  and  the  awful  'scud'  of  the  sea  rolled  her  bodily 
away,  as  she  met  it  with  her  weather-bow,  washing  white  over 
the  headrail,  with  spray  from  cat-head  to  bowsprit;  the  gale 
heaving  her  down  on  the  lee-beam  till  she  plunged  to  the 
brim  on  that  side,  at  every  forward  pitch,  so  that  all  hands 
on  deck  had  to  keep  crowded  together  aft.  Still  it  was 
keen  starlight  overhead,  the  gale  dry,  though  it  was  bitter 
cold,  and  the  seas  long  and  pretty  regular.  The  schooner 
behaved  wonderfully,  being  as  tight  as  a  bottle;  and  at  the 
same  time  we  were  not  only  lying  our  course  either  for 
the  Mozambique  or  Indian  Ocean,  but  instead  of  running 
farther  into  the  gale,  as  before,  and  getting  more  into  the 
wild  Cape  latitudes,  why,  at  present  she  tended  to  clear 
out  of  them.  I  accordingly  agreed  with  Jones  to  hold  on 
with  everything  as  long  as  possible,  in  spite  of  the  way  she 
was  sometimes  flung  off  with  the  crest  of  a  wave,  as  it 
were,  making  a  clear  dive  with  her  nose  under  water 
through  a  white  seething  sea  that  seemed  to  swell  round  the 
whole  horizon;  the  black  bank  of  cloud  off  our  weather- 
beam  towered  like  icebergs  against  the  cold  green  sky  to 
south-east,  the  stars  glittering  and  twinkling  over  it,  with 
little  hazy  rings  round  them,  after  a  fashion  that  one  of 
us  liked  no  more  than  the  other. 

"About  midnight,  we  had  got  everything  off  her  to  the 
two  small  storm-staysails,  main  and  fore,  the  wind  blowing 
great  guns,  and  the  half-moon  shining  right  over  the  long 
bank,  as  if  the  back  of  it  were  dead  white;  while  betwixt 
it  and  the  washing  glimmer  of  moonlight  halfway  you  'd 
have  thought  the  black  heave  of  the  ridges  vanished  into  a 
bulk  of  shadow  ten  times  blacker,  save  for  the  heads  of 
spray  tossing  dimly  over  it  here  and  there.  All  at  once, 
in  the  very  height  of  the  gale,  as  the  black  floating  clouds 
from  the  bank  began  to  cross  over  the  gray  scud  flying 
fast  aloft,  a  blue  flash  of  lightning  shot  zigzag  into  the 
very  comb  of  a  wave  ahead  of  us,  then  came  the  clap  of 
thunder,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  above  the  wind,  and  in 
half  a  minute  there  was  a  sudden  lull.  You  saw  the  fleecy 
rags  of  scud  actually  settling  together  under  the  dark 
vapor  moving  above  them,  and  heard  nothing  but  the  vast 
washing  welter  of  the  billows  rising  and  seething  for  miles 


328  THE  GREEN  HAND 

round,  as  if  the  world  were  water,  while  the  schooner  rolled 
helplessly  away,  with  her  storm-staysails  napping,  into  the 
trough.  The  midshipman  almost  gasped  as  he  looked  to 
me — not  from  fear,  but  as  much  as  to  say,  'What  next?' 
Our  strange  mate  stood  against  the  fife-rail  of  the  mainmast, 
apparently  too  intent  on  the  sky  and  sea  for  speaking. 
For  my  own  part,  I  let  go  my  belaying-pin,  and  half-tum- 
•  bled  to  the  wheel,  almost  knocking  the  sailor  down  in  my 
haste  to  put  'the  helm  hard  up — for  I  saw  how  the  blast  was 
to  come,  fairly  before  the  beam,  upon  us.  'Hard  a-star- 
board  with  it !'  shouted  I ;  'haul  down  the  main-staysail  there 
— let  her  fall  as  she  rises.' 

"The  last  words  were  never  heard,  for  next  moment  there 
was  another  flash  of  lightning,  this  time  a  blaze  all  round 
into  the  troughs  of  the  sea;  I  saw  a  body  of  mist  coming 
down  upon  us  from  south-east,  through  which  the  gale 
struck  her  on  the  starboard  beam,  having  suddenly  shifted 
eight  points  or  so.  The  heavy  rolling  swell  from  north- 
east was  close  aboard,  and  as  soon  as  I  knew  what  I  was 
about,  here  she  was  leaning  over  to  the  full  tremendous  force 
of  the  storm,  without  power  to  surge  ahead,  though  strug- 
gling to  rise  like  a  cart-horse  down  on  his  knees  with  a 
load  uphill  of  him.  'T  was  by  instinct,  as  they  say,  I 
found  myself  scrambling  along  to  her  weather  main-chan- 
nels, where  I  managed  to  get  out  on  the  side,  slippery  as 
it  was,  and  drenched  with  the  blinding  showers  of  spray. 
I  had  got  my  knife  at  work,  cutting  the  lanyards  of  the 
shrouds  to  let  the  mainmast  go,  when  I  saw  Snelling  creep 
after  me,  like  a  fearless  little  fellow  as  he  was,  dirk  in  hand; 
although  what  was  come  of  Jones  I  could  n't  see,  unless  he 
had  lost  heart  and  skulked.  All  at  once,  to  my  great  joy, 
the  main-staysail  blew  inway  to  leeward  out  of  the  bolt- 
ropes,  like  a  scrap  of  paper,  the  main-topmast  crashed  at  the 
cap  and  went  alongside,  when  the  schooner  righted  to  her 
keel,  with  a  wild  bolt  forward  through  the  whole  width 
of  an  immense  wave — one  of  the  'third  waves'  it  was,  com- 
monly the  last  and  the  hugest  in  a  single  roll  of  the  sea 
off  the  Cape,  before  you  sink  into  a  long  gliding  valley, 
with  a  sort  of  a  lull  in  it.  The  scene  was  so  terrible  at 
the  moment,  though  we  bore  up  for  full  half  a  minute  to 
the  fair  steady  stroke  of  the  awful  gale,  nothing  but  a 
yeast  of  mist,  scud,  and  darkness  ahead,  the  spray  torn  off 
the  ridge  of  the  wave  and  flying  with  us,  while  the  triple 
run  of  the  heavy  seas  astern  was  in  danger  of  sweeping 


A  SEA  STORY  329 

her   decks   from   over   the   poop — that  I   felt   we   must   try 
lying-to  with  her  at  once. 

"Indeed,  Snelling  and  I  hardly  knew  whether  we  were 
holding  on  or  not,  as  we  were  half  washed  inboard  and  half 
crawled  round  the  rigging;  but  Jones  had  already  seized 
the  exact  point — when  she  sank  in  the  hollow — to  have  tho 
helm  eased  down  to  leeward.  Meanwhile  he  had  got  the 
reefed  foresail  balanced  and  set,  with  the  sheet  hauled  aft 
beforehand — a  tackle  hooked  on  to  the  clew  and  bowsed 
amidships — everything  else  was  off  her;  and  with  this  sail 
she  came  slowly  up  close  to  the  wind  on  the  slant  of  tho 
next  wave,  lying-to  nearly  head  toward  the  force  of  the 
sea,  as  her  helm  was  kept  fast  two  or  three  points  to  lee- 
ward. I  never  had  seen  a  craft  of  the  kind  hove-to  in 
a  gale  before,  and  a  very  nice  matter  it  is,  too.  We  drew 
breath,  scarce  able  to  credit  our  eyes,  while  the  schooner 
rode  apparently  safe  en  a  sea  rolling  mountain-high;  rising 
and  falling  off  from  the  breast  to  the  sides  of  the  waves, 
so  far  as  leeway  went,  and  forging  ahead  a  little  at  the 
same  time  through  the  fierce  spray  that  showered  out  of 
the  dark  over  her  weather-bow. 

"Cape  weather  as  bad  I  had  seen  before,  but  always  in 
good-sized  ships;  and  I  owned  to  Snelling  I  would  rather 
have  handled  any  one  of  them,  even  with  a  lee-shore  near, 
ten  times  over,  than  this  schooner  of  ours  in  the  present 
case.  However,  none  of  us  were  in  any  mood  for  speak- 
ing at  the  time,  let  alone  the  waste  of  breath  it  was.  The 
best  thing  we  had  to  do,  after  getting  somewhat  satisfied 
of  her  weathering  it  this  way,  was  to  have  the  grog  served 
out  to  the  men,  swig  off  a  stiff  pannikin  one's  self,  and 
make  one's  self  as  comfortable  as  possible  with  his  pea- 
coat  in  the  lee  of  something. 

"The  sight  of  the  sea  ridging  up  with  a  dim  glimmer 
against  the  dark,  kept  your  eye  fixed  to  it ;  first  you  thought 
it  would  burst  right  aboard,  crash  down  upon  the  docks; 
then  she  lifted  with  it,  swelling  broad  under  her,  while 
the  long  steady  sweep  of  the  gale  drove  just  over  the  bul- 
warks with  a  deep  moan;  for  half  a  minute,  perhan1?,  a 
shivering  lull,  when  you  heard  the  bulkheads  and  timbers 
creak  and  strain  below  from  stem  to  stern,  and  the  bilge-  - 
water  yearning,  as  it  were,  to  the  water  outside.  Then, 
again,  it  was  a  howl  and  a  shriek,  a  wide  plunge  of  sea 
bore  up  her  weather-bow,  and  the  moment  ere  she  came 
fairly  to,  one  felt  as  if  the  schooner  were  going  to  pitch 
God  knows  where.  Her  whole  bulwarks  shook  and  shivered, 


330  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  wind  found  out  every  chink  in  them,  whistling  round 
every  different  rope  it  split  upon,  while  all  the  time  the 
loose,  wet,  dreary  spars  behind  the  long-boat  kept  slatting 
and  clattering  against  each  other  in  the  lashings,  like  planks 
in  a  woodyard  of  a  November  night.  This  was  the  way 
we  stuck  till  the  morning  watch  showed  it  all  in  a  drizzling, 
struggling  sort  of  half-light,  blowing  as  hard  as  ever,  the 
Cape  seas  rolling  and  heaving  mountain-high,  of  a  pale 
yeasty  hue,  far  and  wide  to  the  scud;  the  spray  drifting 
from  the  crests,  and  washing  over  her  bare  forecastle,  with 
now  and  then  the  white  wings  of  a  huge  albatross  to  be 
seen  aslant  to  windward,  riding  on  the  breast  of  a  long 
wave  down  into  the  trough. 

"Well,  the  whole  blessed  day  did  this  sort  of  thing  con- 
tinue, only  varied  by  now  and  then  a  huger  sea  than  or- 
dinary lifting  close  aboard  of  us,  and  we  being  hove  up 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  long  glaring  streak  of  horizon 
through  the  troughs  of  the  waves;  sometimes  an  unluckier 
splash  than  usual  over  the  bow  and  through  the  fore-chains, 
that  made  us  look  sharp  lest  the  canvas  of  the  foresail 
should  go,  or  the  schooner  broach  end-on  to  the  sea.  Other- 
wise, all  we  had  to  do  was  to  watch  the  binnacle,  hold 
on  with  one  hand  to  a  rope,  and  with  the  other  to  our 
caps;  or  turn  out  and  in  with  each  other  down  the  booby- 
hatch  for  a  snatch  of  sleep,  and  a  bit  of  biscuit  and  cold 
beef,  with  a  glass  of  grog.  Mr.  Webb,  the  harbor  officer, 
was  to  be  seen  below  in  his  berth  all  this  time,  lying 
as  peaceable  as  a  child;  whether  he  was  dead  sick  or  only 
confoundedly  afraid  I  did  n't  know ;  but  I  must  say  1  felt 
for  the  poor  fellow  when  I  heard  him  ask  Snelling  in  a 
weak  voice,  if  he  would  get  somebody  to  stand  off  the  bull's- 
eye  in  the  deck  over  his  berth,  as  it  always  made  him  think 
there  was  a  new  hurricane  coming  on.  'You  low,  skulking 
hound  !'  said  the  reefer,  who  had  wonderfully  little  pity  in 
his  make,  'it  can't  be  worse — what  d'ye  want  light  for,  ehf 
'Only  to  see  the  opposite  wall,'  said  Webb,  meekly;  'do,  sir — 
oh  now!'  'Oh,  you  lubber,  ye!'  said  Snelling,  'don't  you 
know  a  bulkhead  from  a  wall  yet?  If  you'd  come  on  deck 
to  bear  a  hand  like  others,  you  would  n't  need  light ;  and  / 
thought  you  might  do  for  a  mate  aboard,  too — pah,  you 
scum !' 

"'Mr.  Snelling,'  said  I  sharply,  as  he  came  through  the 
cabin,  'a  worm  will  turn  when  it 's  trod  upon,  and  so  you 
may  find  yet,  sir!'  'Well,  Mr.  Collins/  said  he,  as  con- 


A  SEA  STORY  331 

fidently  as  if  I  had  n't  meant  to  give  him  a  set-down,  'I 
don't  like  the  fellow's  eye.  I  '11  look  after  him,  sir !' 

"Not  to  mention  the  young  rogue's  power  of  face,  which 
was  beyond  brass,  he  had  a  way  of  seeing  you  in  two 
places  at  once  with  that  upward  squint  of  his,  as  if  his  eyes 
were  the  points  of  a  pair  of  compasses,  that  made  the  officers 
of  the  'Hebe'  always  send  him  to  the  masthead  directly, 
for  fear  it  should  take  the  frown  out  of  them.  In  fact, 
when  Snelling's  twinkling  weather-eye  lighted  on  one's  neck, 
without  the  other,  you  almost  felt  it  tickle  you,  and  as 
usual  I  turned  away  with  a  'pshaw!' 

"On  the  second  morning,  the  gale  at  last  began  to  break, 
shifting  southward;  on  which,  as  soon  as  the  sea  ran  a  little 
easier,  I  had  the  helm  cautiously  put  up  at  a  favorable 
moment,  the  reefed  mainsail,  fore-topmast-staysail,  and 
square  fore-topsail  set  as  she  got  before  the  wind,  and  away 
the  schooner  went;  rising  on  the  wide  deep-blue  swells 
with  a  long  roll  in  them,  then  shearing  ahead  through  their 
breasts,  wrinkled  and  seething  pale-green,  till  she  sank  with 
the  fall  of  the  wave — the  stump  of  her  aftermast  stand- 
ing, and  the  fore  one  shortened  by  the  to'gallant-mast.  You 
may  easily  believe  there  was  no  one  aboard  more  eager  to 
get  clear  of  this  weather  than  myself;  as  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, with  a  craft  like  this,  in  two  or  three  days 
more  we  might  have  been  in  a  high  enough  latitude  to 
begin  looking  out  for  the  Indiaman.  For  my  part,  I  can't 
deny  that  the  wish  for  having  Tom  West  wood  safe  out 
of  harm's  way,  and  with  me  in  the  schooner,  strong  as  it 
was,  played  second  to  the  notion  of  seeing  sweet  Violet 
Hyde  in  any  way  again,  if  it  was  only  the  last  time  be- 
fore she  went  outof  reach  altogether;  for  her  getting  amongst 
East  India  ways  of  doing,  high-flying  civilians  and  soldiers, 
shows,  and  sights,  either  in  Calcutta  or  up-country,  was 
equal  to  anything  else,  in  my  mind.  Still,  we  had  six  or 
seven  days  longer  of  the  heavy  seas  and  hard  gales,  before 
north-easting  enough  could  be  made  to  take  us  beyond  the 
Cape  winter,  just  then  coming  on,  and  which  the  'Seringa- 
patam'  had  very  likely  escaped  by  two  or  three  days,  so 
that  she  would  have  a  considerable  start  of  us. 

"By  this  time  we  were  standing  well  up  for  the  Mozam- 
bique Channel,  which  I  had  heard  the  Indiaman  intended  to 
take  in  company;  a  piece  of  information  that  made  me  the 
more  anxious  to  overtake  the  'Seringapatam,'  at  latest,  by 
the  time  they  reached  open  water  again,  where,  being  the 
only  ship  for  Bombay,  she  would  no  doubt  part  from  her 


332  THE  GREEN  HAND 

consorts.  We  had  a  cruiser  that  year,  as  I  knew,  in  the 
Mozambique,  where  there  were  some  rumors  of  pirates  after 
the  war,  so  that  in  case  of  her  happening  to  speak  the 
'Seringapatam'  close,  and  having  got  any  word  of  West- 
wood's  affair,  he  ran  a  chance  of  being  picked  off.  How- 
ever, that  was  n't  by  any  means  the  thing  that  troubled 
me  most;  somehow  or  other,  whenever  the  picture  of  Violet's 
face  brought  the  Indiaman's  decks  clear  into  my  mind,  with 
all  about  her,  I  could  n't  get  rid  of  the  notion  that  some 
ill-luck  would  come  across  that  ship  before  she  got  into 
port.  If  any  pirate  craft  were  to  dodge  the  whole  bevy 
of  Indiamen  up  the  head  of  the  channel,  as  was  pretty 
sure  to  be  the  case,  he  would  probably  wait  for  some  signs 
of  separating,  and  be  down  upon  a  single  one  not  long 
after  she  cleared  the  Seychelles  Islands,  where  a  lonely 
enough  stretch  of  the  Indian  Ocean  spreads  in.  The  more 
I  entered  upon  the  thought  of  it,  the  more  unsufferable 
it  got;  especially  one  day  in  the  mouth  of  the  Mozambique, 
when  it  fell  a  dead  calm  with  a  heavy  up-and-down  swell, 
fit  to  roll  the  sticks  out  of  her;  the  high  blue  land  of  Mada- 
gascar being  in  sight,  sometimes  to  starboard,  sometimes 
to  port,  then  astern,  and  the  clear  horizon  lying  away 
north-west,  dark  with  a  breeze  from  round  the  coast.  As 
the  hot  sun  blazed  out  above  us,  and  the  blue  water  came 
plunge  up  over  the  rail,  blazing  and  flashing,  first  one  side 
dipped,  then  the  other,  I  could  fancy  the  passengers  on 
the  Indiaman's  poop  in  a  light  breeze  with  a  suspicious 
lateen-rigged  sail  creeping  up  on  her  quarter.  I  thought  I 
saw  Violet  Hyde's  eyes  sparkle  against  the  glare  of  light, 
and  her  lips  parting  to  speak — till  I  actually  stamped  on  the 
deck,  my  fists  clinched,  and  I  made  three  strides  to  the 
very  taffrail  of  the  schooner.  All  at  once  I  met  my  second 
mate's  eye  coolly  fixed  on  me,  which  brought  me  to  my 
senses  in  a  moment,  the  more  so  as  there  was  something 
about  this  man  Jones  I  could  n't  make  out,  and  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  him;  though 
the  fact  was,  it  annoyed  me  most  to  feel  him  seeing  into 
me,  as  it  were,  without  troubling  himself.  'We  shall  have 
the  breeze  before  long,  sir,  round  Cape  Mary  yonder,'  said 
he,  stepping  forward.  'So  I  expect,  myself,  Mr.  Jones,'  said 
I,  'though  you  evidently  know  the  coast  better  than  I  do.' 
With  that  I  gave  him  a  careless  side-look,  but  to  all  ap- 
pearance there  was  nothing  particular  in  his,  as  he  told 
me  he  had  seen  it  two  or  three  times  before. 


A  SEA  STORY  333 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"WITH  the  evening  we  were  once  more  running  sharp  on 
a  wind  up  channel;  and  when  she  did  get  her  own  way  in 
a  good  breeze,  the  schooner's  qualities  came  out.  'T  was  a 
perfect  luxury  to  look  over  the  side  and  see  the  bubbles 
pass,  her  sharp  bows  sliding  through  it  like  a  knife,  she  eat- 
ing into  the  wind  all  the  time,  in  a  way  none  but  a  fore- 
and-aft  clipper  could  hope  to  do,  with  a  glassy  blue  ripple 
sent  back  from  her  weather-bow  as  far  as  the  fore-chains; 
then  to  wake  of  a  morning  and  feel  her  bounding  under  .you 
with  a  roll  up  to  windward,  while  the  water  gushed  through 
and  through  below  the  keel,  and  ran  yearning  and  toppling 
away  back  along  the  outer  timbers  into  her  boiling  wake, 
working  with  the  moving  rudder.  And  our  man-o'-war's- 
men  were  quite  delighted  with  the  'Young  Hebe,'  as  they 
still  called  her.  Snelling  was  in  his  element  while  we  were 
having  the  new  spars  sent  up  aloft — a  set  of  longer  sticks 
than  before — till  she  had  twice  the  air,  as  well  as  a  know- 
ing rake  aft.  Next  thing  was  to  get  the  long  brass  nine- 
pounder  amidships  from  under  the  boat,  where  the  French- 
men had  kept  it,  besides  which  we  found  another  in  her 
hold;  so  that,  added  to  six  small  carronades  already  on  deck, 
we  made  a  pretty  show.  Meanwhile,  for  my  own  part,  I 
kept  cracking  on  with  every  stitch  of  canvas  that  could 
be  clapped  upon  the  spars,  including  studding-sails.  Jones 
himself  did  n't  know  better  than  I  did  by  this  time  how 
to  handle  the  craft,  schooner  though  she  was,  in  the  way 
of  making  her  use  what  weather  we  had  to  the  best  pur- 
pose. Variable  as  it  proved,  too,  I  was  aware  the  Indiaman 
would  have  pretty  much  the  same  now  as  we  had;  so  that, 
on  going  aloft  with  the  glass,  as  I  did  every  watch  in  the 
day,  I  soon  began  each  time  expecting  one  or  other  of 
them  to  heave  in  sight. 

"As  for  the  five  hands  from  Cape  Town,  they  seemed  to 
have  fallen  in  cheerfully  enough  with  our  own,  and  as  soon 
as  the  fine  weather  came,  the  gang  of  Lascars  were  set  to 
duty  like  the  rest.  Snelling  would  have  them  even  trained 
to  work  the  guns,  although,  if  it  blew  at  all  hard,  not  one 
could  be  got  to  go  aloft,  except  their  old  serang  and  the 
tindal,  his  mate.  What  surprised  me  most  was  the  harbor 
officer  himself  at  last  asking,  as  Mr.  Snelling  told  me,  to 


334  THE  GREEN  HAND 

be  put  in  a  watch;  but  as  the  midshipman  said  there  was 
no  doubt  Webb  had  made  a  voyage  or  two  before,  some- 
where or  other,  I  agreed  to  it  at  once.  'I  'm  not  sure,  sir,' 
added  the  midshipman,  with  one  of  his  doubtful  double  looks, 
'but  the  gentleman  may  have  seen  blue  water  the  first  time  at 
Government  expense,  and  not  in  the  service  either — he 
don't  look  fore  and  aft  enough,  Mr.  Collins,  harbor  officer 
though  he  be ;  but,  never  mind,  sir,  I  '11  see  after  him !' 
'Pooh,'  said  I,  laughing;  'if  he  does  turn  to,  Mr.  Snelling, 
it  shan't  be  in  the  watch  you  have  to  do  with!  Hand  him 
over  to  Mr.  Jones.'  By  this  time  I  had  changed  the  mid 
into  my  own  watch,  and  given  Jones  charge  of  the  other 
— so  to  him  the  harbor  officer  went. 

"The  main  character  aboard  of  us,  to  me  at  any  rate, 
was  this  Jones  himself.  The  fact  was,  at  first  I  had  my 
doubts  of  him  altogether,  partly  owing  to  the  queer  way 
we  got  hold  of  him,  partly  on  account  of  his  getting  the 
upper  hand  so  much  through  chance,  in  the  tremendous 
weather  we  had  at  the  outset,  till  I  was  n't  sure  but  it 
might  come  into  the  fellow's  head  of  itself,  to  be  upon 
some  drift  or  other  that  might  cost  me  trouble,  as  things 
stood.  However,  I  no  sooner  felt  where  I  was,  and  got 
the  craft  under  my  own  spoke,  than  I  came  to  set  him 
down  for  nothing  but  one  of  those  strange  hands  you  fall 
in  with  at  sea  sometimes,  always  sailing  with  a  'purser's 
name,'  a  regular  wonder  of  a  shipmate,  and  serving  to 
quote  every  voyage  after,  by  way  of  a  clincher  on  all  hard 
points,  not  to  say  an  oracle  one  can't  get  beyond,  and  can't 
blow  sky-high  enough.  To  tell  the  truth,  though,  Jones 
was  as  thorough  a  seaman  as  ever  I  met  with — never  at  a 
loss,  never  wanting  on  any  hand;  whether  it  was  the  little 
niceties  we  stood  in  need  of  for  setting  the  schooner's  rig- 
ging all  right  again,  which  none  but  a  blue-water  long- 
voyage  sailor  can  touch,  or,  what  comes  to  be  still  better 
in  tropical  latitudes,  a  cool  head  and  a  quick  hold,  with 
full  experience  for  all  sorts  of  weather,  't  was  much  the 
same  to  him.  He  was  all  over  like  iron,  too,  never  seem- 
ing to  stand  in  need  of  sleep,  and  seeing  like  a  hawk. 
At  any  hour  I  came  on  deck  in  his  watch,  there  was  Jones, 
all  awake  and  ready,  till  hearing  him  walk  the  planks 
over  my  head  of  a  fine  night  made  me  at  times  keep  my 
eyes  open,  listening  to  it  and  the  wash  of  the  water  to- 
gether. I  fancied  there  was  something  restless  in  it,  like 
the  sea,  with  now  and  then  an  uneven  sort  of  a  start; 
and  at  last  it  would  come  to  full  stop,  that  gave  me  the 


A  SEA  STORY  335 

notion  of  how  he  was  standing  quiet  in  the  same  spot; 
whether  he  was  looking  aloft,  or  thinking,  or  leaning  over 
the  side,  or  what  he  was  going  to  do,  troubled  me  won- 
derfully. The  only  want  in  his  seamanship  I  noticed,  he 
evidently  was  n't  used  to  handle  a  large  ship ;  but  craft 
of  some  kind  I  was  pretty  sure  he  had  commanded  in  the 
course  of  his  life.  As  for  taking  observations,  he  could  do 
it  better  than  I  could  then,  while  the  knowledge  he  had 
on  different  heads,  that  came  out  by  chance,  made  you 
think  more  of  a  Cambridge  graduate  than  a  common  sailor, 
such  as  he  had  shipped  for  with  us.  The  strangest  part 
of  all  about  him,  though,  was  what  I  couldn't  well  name, 
not  to  this  day ;  't  was  more  grained  in  with  his  manner, 
and  the  ring  of  his  voice  at  particular  moments,  as  well 
as  his  walk,  though  these  were  the  smart  seaman's  no  less; 
but  one  could  n't  help  thinking  of  a  man  that  had  known 
the  world  ashore  some  time  or  other,  in  a  different  enough 
station  from  now — ay,  and  in  a  way  to  bring  out  softer 
lines  in  his  face  than  reefing  topsails  or  seeing  the  main- 
tack  ridden  down  would  do.  The  nearest  I  could  come  to 
calling  it,  far  apart  as  the  two  men  stood,  was  to  fancy  he 
reminded  me  of  Lord  Frederick  Bury  himself;  especially 
when  he  looked  all  of  a  sudden  to  the  horizon  in  that 
wide,  vacant  kind  of  fashion,  as  if  he  expected  it  farther 
off  than  it  was;  only  Jones's  face  was  twice  the  age,  like 
a  man's  that  had  had  double  the  passions  in  it  at  the 
outset,  and  given  them  full  swing  since  then;  with  a  sleep- 
ing devil  in  his  eye  yef,  besides,  as  I  thought,  which 
only  wanted  somewhat  to  rouse  it.  Only  for  that,  I  had 
a  sort  of  leaning  to  Jones  myself;  but,  as  it  was,  I  caught 
myself  wishing,  over  and  over,  for  something  to  make  us 
fall  regularly  foul  of  each  other,  and  get  rid  of  this  con- 
founded doubtful  state.  One  hitch  of  a  word  to  take  hold 
of,  and,  by  Jove!  I  felt  all  the  blood  in  my  body  would  boil 
out  in  me  to  find  how  we  stood,  and  show  it;  but  nothing 
of  the  kind  did  Jones  let  pass — and  as  close  as  the  sea  itself 
he  was  in  regard  to  his  past  life.  As  for  the  men  from 
the  frigate,  at  least,  they  seemingly  looked  on  him  with 
no  great  fondness,  and  a  good  deal  of  respect,  in  spite 
of  themselves,  for  his  seamanship;  whereas,  if  he  had 
been  left  in  the  forepeak  in  place  of  the  cabin,  I've  no 
doubt  in  a  short  time  it  would  have  been  no  man  but 
Jones.  You  light  now  and  then  upon  a  man  afloat,  indeed, 
that  his  shipmates  hold  off  from,  as  healthy  dogs  dp  from 
a  mad  one;  and  you  saw  they  had  some  sort  of  an  inkling 


336  THE  GREEN  HAND 

of  the  gloomy  close  nature  Jones  had  in  him  by  the  way 
they  obeyed  his  orders.  Webb's  three  Cape  Dutchmen 
seemed  to  have  a  notion  he  was  some  being  with  mys- 
terious powers,  while  the  Lascars  ran  crouching  at  his  very 
word — some  of  them  being,  as  I  found,  Malays,  and  the  rest 
Mussulmans  from  Chittagong;  but  Jones  could  send  them 
about  in  their  own  language,  Dutchmen  and  all — a  part  of 
the  matter  which  did  not  tend  to  keep  me  less  careful  over 
him.  Still  I  observed,  since  his  coming  aboard,  that  Jones 
never  once  touched  liquor,  which  had  plainly  enough  been 
his  ruin  ashore;  whether  on  account  of  meaning  to  pull 
up  once  for  all  and  mend,  or  only  to  have  a  wider  bout 
at  next  port,  or  else  to  keep  himself  steady  for  aught  that 
might  turn  up,  I  could  n't  settle  in  my  own  mind.  Though 
deucedly  doubtful  of  its  being  the  first,  the  very  idea  of 
it  made  one  feel  for  the  man;  and,  in  case  of  his  doing 
well,  I  had  no  small  hopes  of  something  in  the  upshot 
to  save  a  real  sailor  like  him  from  going  to  the  devil 
altogether,  as  he  seemed  doing. 

"Now,  after  our  getting  clear  of  the  rough  Cape  weather, 
and  the  deadlights  being  taken  out  of  the  stern  windows,  I 
had  given  a  look,  for  the  first  time,  into  the  schooner's  after- 
cabins,  which  were  pretty  much  as  the  people  she  belonged 
to  before  had  left  them,  except  for  the  rough  work  the 
gale  had  played.  There  were  two  of  them,  one  opening 
into  the  other;  and  I  must  say  it  was  a  melancholy  sight 
to  meet  the  bright  sunlight  streaming  into  them  from  off 
the  water  astern,  with  all  the  little  matters  either  just  as  if 
the  owners  were  still  inside,  or  else  tumbled  about  at  sixes 
and  sevens.  One  drawer,  in  particular,,  had  come  out  of  a 
table,  scattering  what  was  in  it  on  the  deck:  there  was  a 
half-open  letter,  in  a  woman's  hand,  all  French,  and  show- 
ing a  lock  of  hair,  with  a  broken  diamond  cross  of  the 
French  Legion  of  Honor,  besides  a  sort  of  paper-book  full 
of  writing  and  two  printed  ones  bound  in  morocco.  I  picked 
up  the  letter  and  the  cross,  put  them  in  again,  and  shoved 
the  drawer  back  to  its  place,  though  I  brought  the  books 
away  with  me  to  have  a  glance  over.  What  struck  me 
most,  though,  was  a  plaster  figure  of  the  French  Emperor 
himself,  standing  fastened  on  a  shelf,  with  one  hand  in 
the  breast  of  his  great  coat,  and  looking  calmly  out  of 
the  white  sightless  eyes;  while  right  opposite  hung  a  sort 
of  curtain  which  you  'd  have  thought  they  were  fixed  upon. 
When  I  hauled  it  aside,  I  stared — there,  on  a  shelf  to  match 
the  other,  was  a  beautiful  smiling  child's  head  to  the  shoul- 


A  SEA  STORY 


337 


ders,  of  pure  white  marble,  as  if  it  leaned  off  the  bulkhead 
like  a  cherub  out  of  the  clouds. 

"Spite  of  all,  however,  the  touch  of  likeness  it  had  to 
the  head  I  got  such  a  glimpse  of  at  Longwood,  even  when 
the  hot  sunlight  showed  it  in  my  spyglass  so  pale  and 
terrible,  was  sufficient  to  tell  me  what  this  was — Napoleon's 
own  little  son,  in  fact,  who  was  made  king  of  Rome,  as 
I  remembered  hearing  at  the  time.  The  thought  of  the 
schooner's  strange  French  captain  and  his  desperate  scheme 
came  back  on  me  so  strong,  joined  to  what  I  saw  he  had 
an  eye  to  in  fitting  out  his  cabins,  that,  for  my  own  part, 
I  had  n't  the  heart  to  use  them  myself,  and  at  first  sight 
ordered  the  deadlights  to  be  shipped  again,  and  the  door 
locked. 

"  'T  was  a  good  many  days  after  this,  of  course,  and  we 
had  made  a  pretty  fast  run  up  the  Mozambique,  in  spite  of 
the  sharp  navigation  required,  sighting  nothing  larger  than 
the  native  and  Arab  craft  to  be  seen  thereabouts;  we  were 
beginning  to  clear  out  from  amongst  the  cluster  of  islands 
and  shoals  at  the  channel-head,  when  two  large  sail  were 
made  in  open  water  to  nor' -eastward.  Next  morning  by  day- 
break we  were  to  windward  of  the  weathermost — a  fine 
large  Indiaman  she  was,  crowding  a  perfect  tower  of  canvas. 
Shortly  after,  however,  the  schooner  was  within  hail,  slip- 
ping easily  down  upon  her  quarter,  which  seemed  to  give 
them  a  little  uneasiness,  plenty  of  troops  as  she  seemed 
to  have  on  board,  and  looming  like  a  frigate.  After  some 
showing  of  keeping  on,  and  apparently  putting  faith  in  the 
man-of-war  pennant  I  hoisted,  she  hove  into  the  wind,  when 
we  found  she  was  the  Company's  ship  'Warringford,'  and 
the  other  the  something  'Castle,'  I  forget  which,  both  for 
Calcutta.  The  next  thing,  as  soon  as  they  found  we  were 
tender  to  his  Majesty's  frigate  'Hebe,'  was  to  ask  after 
the  'Seringapatam';  on  which  I  was  told  she  was  three 
or  four  days'  sail  ahead  with  the  'Mandarin,'  bound  to 
China,  neither  of  them  having  put  in  at  Johanna  Island 
to  refresh. 

"I  was  just  ready  to  put  our  helm  up  again  and 
bid  good-by,  when  the  tiffin-gong  could  be  heard  sounding- 
on  the  Tndiaman's  quarter-deck,  and  the  old  white-haired 
captain  politely  asked  me  if  I  would  n't  come  aboard  with 
one  or  two  of  my  officers  to  lunch.  Mr.  Snelling  gave  me 
a  wistful  glance — there  were  a  dozen  pretty  faces  admiring 
our  schooner  out  of  the  long  white  awnings:  but  even  if 
the  notion  of  bringing  up  Snelling  himself  as  my  first  offi- 


338  THE  GREEN  HAND 

cer  had  n't  been  too  much  for  me,  not  to  speak  of  either 
Jones  or  Webb,  why  the  very  thoughts  that  everything  I 
saw  recalled  to  me,  made  me  the  more  eager  to  get  in 
sight  of  the  'Seringapatam.'  'Thank  you,  sir,'  answered  I. 
'No — I  must  be  off  after  the  Bombay  ship.'  'Ah,'  hailed  the 
old  captain,  'some  of  your  Admiral's  post-bags,  I  suppose. 
Well,  keep  as  much  northing  as  you  can,  sir,  and  I  dare  say 
you  '11  find  her  parted  company.  She's  got  a  jury  fore-top- 
mast up,  for  one  she  lost  a  week  ago;  so  you  can't  mistake 
her  for  the  "Mandarin,"  with  a  good  glass.'  'Have  you 
noticed  any  suspicious  craft  lately,  sir?'  asked  I.  'Why,  to 
tell  you  the  truth,  lieutenant,'  sang  out  he,  looking  down  off 
the  high  bulwarks  at  our  long  nine-pounders  and  the  knot 
of  Lascars,  'none  more  so  than  we  thought  you,  at  first,  sir!' 
The  cadets  on  the  poop  roared  with  laughter,  and  an  old 
lady  with  two  daughters  seemed  to  eye  Snelling  doubtfully, 
through  an  opera-glass,  as  the  reefer  ogled  both  of  them  at 
once. 

"  'By  the  bye,'  sang  out  the  captain  of  the  Indiaman  to 
me  again,  'I  fancy  the  passengers  in  that  ship  must  have 
got  somehow  uncomfortable — one  of  our  Bengal  grandees 
aboard  of  her  wanted  a  berth  to  Calcutta  with  us,  t'  other 
day  in  the  Mozambique;  but  we're  too  full  already!'  'In- 
deed, sir?'  said  I;  but  the  schooner's  main-boom  was  jibbing 
over,  and  with  two  or  three  more  hails,  wishing  them  a 
good  voyage,  and  so  on,  away  we  slipped  past  their  weather- 
bow.  The  'Warringford'  got  under  way  at  her  leisure,  and 
in  an  hour  or  two  her  topsails  were  down  to  leeward  of  us. 
On  I  cracked  with  square  and  studding-sails  to  the  quarter- 
ing breeze,  till  the  schooner's  light  hull  jumped  to  it,  and 
aloft  she  was  all  hung  out  of  a  side,  like  a  diaryman's 
daughter  carrying  milk;  with  the  pace  she  went  at,  I 
could  almost  say  to  an  hour  when  we  should  overhaul  the 
chase. 

"Still,  after  two  or  three  days  of  the  trade-wind,  well  out 
in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  not  a  spot  to  be  seen,  we  had 
got  so  far  up  the  Line  as  to  make  me  sure  we  had  overrun 
her.  Accordingly  the  schooner  was  hauled  sharp  on  a  wind 
to  cruise  slowly  down  across  what  must  be  the  Indiaman's 
track,  judging  as  we  could  to  a  nicety,  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  weather  we  had  had.  For  my  part,  I  was  so  certain  of 
sighting  her  soon,  that  I  ordered  the  after-cabins  to  be  set 
to  rights,  seeing  a  notion  had  taken  hold  of  rne  of  actually 
offering  them  to  Sir  Charles  Hyde  for  the  voyage  to  Cal- 
cutta— fancy  the  thought!  'T  was  too  good  to  be  likely; 


A  SEA  STORY  339 

but  Violet  herself  actually  being  in  that  little  after-cabin 
and  sleeping  in  it — the  lively  schooner  heading  away  alone 
for  India,  and  they  and  Westwood  the  sole  passengers  aboard 
— why,  the  very  idea  of  it  was  fit  to  drive  me  crazy  with 
impatience. 

"Well,  one  fine  night,  after  being  on  deck  all  day,  and 
the  whole  night  before,  almost,  I  had  turned  into  my  cot 
to  sleep.  .From  where  I  lay  I  could  see  the  moonshine  off 
the  water  through  the  stern-light  in  that  after-cabin,  by  the 
half-open  door.  I  felt  the  schooner  going  easily  through 
the  water,  with  a  rise  and  fall  from  the  heave  of  the  long 
Line-swell ;  so  close  my  eyes  I  could  n't,  especially  as  the 
midshipman  could  be  heard  snoring  on  the  other  side  like 
the  very  deuce.  Accordingly  I  turned  out  into  the  after- 
cabin,  and  got  hold  of  one  of  the  Frenchman's  volumes  to 
read,  when,  lo  and  behold !  I  found  it  was  neither  more  nor 
less  than  Greek,  all  I  knew  being  the  sight  of  it.  Next  I 
commenced  overhauling  the  bundle  of  handwriting,  which 
I  took  at  first  for  a  French  log  of  the  schooner's  voyage, 
and  sat  down  on  the  locker  to  have  a  spell  at  it.  So 
much  as  I  could  make  out,  in  spite  of  the  queer  outland- 
ish turn  the  letters  had,  and  the  quirks  of  the  unnatural 
sort  of  language,  it  was  curious  enough — a  regular  story, 
in  fact,  about  his  own  life,  the  war,  and  Bonaparte  himself. 

"At  another  time  I  'd  have  given  a  good  deal  to  go 
through  with  it  at  odd  hours — and  a  strange  affair  I  found 
it  was  some  time  afterwards;  but  meanwhile  I  had  only 
seen  at  the  beginning  that  his  name  was  Le  Comte  Victor 
I'Allemand,  Capitaine  de  la  Marine  Francais,  and  made  out 
at  the  end  how  there  was  some  scheme  of  his  beyond  what  I 
knew  before  to  be  carried  out  in  India, — when  it  struck  me 
there  was  no  one  on  the  quarter-deck  above.  I  listened  Tor  a 
minute  through  the  stern-window,  and  thought  I  heard  some 
one  speaking,  over  the  schooner's  lee-quarter,  as  she  surged 
along;  so  slipping  on  jacket  and  cap,  I  went  on  deck  at  once. 

"It  was  middle-watch  at  the  time;  but  as  soon  as  I 
came  up  I  saw  all  was  quiet — Webb  near  the  gangway 
talking  to  the  old  Lascar  serang,  and  breaking  the  English 
wonderfully  betwixt  them;  while  the  Lascars  of  the  watch 
were  sitting  like  tailors  in  a  ring  on  the  forecastle  planks, 
ei?ch  waiting  for  his  turn  of  one  cocoanut  hookah,  that  kept 
hubble-bubbling  away  gravely  under  the  smoker's  nose,  as 
he  took  a  long  suck  at  it,  while  the  red  cinder  in  the 
bowl  lighted  up  his  leathery  Hindoo  face  and  moustache 
like  a  firefly  in  the  root  of  a  banian,  till  he  handed  it,  without 


340  THE  GREEN  HAND 

even  a  wipe,  to  his  neighbor.  These  fellows  had  begun  to 
get  much  livelier  as  we  made  the  tropics;  and  this  same 
serang  of  theirs  had  put  out  his  horns  once  or  twice  to 
Snelling  lately,  though  he  drew  them  in  again  the  moment 
he  saw  me — a  sulky  old  knotty-faced,  yellow-eyed  devil  1 
thought  him  at  any  rate,  while  his  dish-cloth  of  a  turban, 
his  long  blue  gown  and  red  trousers,  reminded  you  at  sea 
in  a  gale  of  a  dancing  dervish.  The  day  we  spoke  the 
Indiaman,  in  fact,  I  noticed  there  was  something  in  the 
wind  for  a  minute  or  two  with  him  and  his  gang,  which  put 
in  my  head  at  first  to  offer  them  to  the  captain  for  a 
couple  of  good  English  hands;  and  as  I  passed  him  and 
Webb  this  time  the  serang  stopped  his  talk  and  sidled  off. 

"However,  a  beautiful  night  it  was,  as  ever  eye  looked 
upon  even  in  the  blue  Indian  Ocean:  the  heavens  cloudless, 
the  full  round  moon  shining  high  off  our  weather-beam 
again,  the  stars  drawn  up  into  her  bright  light,  as  it  were, 
trembling  through  the  films  of  it  like  dewdrops  in  gossamer 
of  a  summer  morning:  you  saw  the  sea  meet  the  sky  on 
every  hand,  without  a  speck  on  the  clear  line  of  horizon, 
through  the  squares  of  our  ratlines  and  betwixt  the  schooner's 
two  long  fore-and-aft  booms.  A  pretty  strongish  breeze  we 
had,  too,  blowing  from  east  to  west,  with  a  sweep  through 
the  emptiness  aloft,  and  a  wrinkling  ripple  over  the  long 
gentle  swells,  as  deep  in  the  hue  as  if  fresh  dye  came  from 
the  bottom,  and  crisping  into  a  small  sparkle  of  foam 
wherever  they  caught  it  full.  Something  pleasant,  one 
could  not  say  what,  was  in  the  air;  and  every  sheet  being 
hauled  taut  to  hold  wind,  the  slant  gush  of  it  before  her 
beam  drove  her  slipping  ahead  toward  the  quarter  it  came 
from,  with  a  dip  down  and  a  saucy  lift  of  her  jibs  again, 
as  if  she  were  half  balanced  amidships,  but  little  noise  about 
it.  I  took  a  squint  aloft  and  an  overhaul  all  round,  and 
nothing  was  to  be  seen.  The  size  of  the  sky  through  the 
moonlight  looked  awful,  as  it  were,  and  the  strength  of"  the 
breeze  seemed  to  send  a  heavenly  blue  deep  into  the  western 
quarter,  till  you  saw  a  star  in  it.  The  night  was  so  lovely, 
in  fact,  it  somehow  made  one  thinic  of  one's  mother,  and 
old  times,  when  you  used  to  say  your  prayers.  Still  1 
could  n't  see  the  mate  of  the  watch  on  the  weather  quarter- 
deck, which  surprised  me  the  more  in  Jones's  case,  since 
he  was  always  ready  for  me  when  I  came  up;  and,  to  tell 
the  truth,  I  should  n't  have  been  sorry  to  catch  him  napping 
for  once,  only  to  show  he  was  like  men  in  common.  1 
walked  aft  by  the  weather-side  of  the  large  mainsail,  ac- 


A  SEA  STORY  341 

cordingly,  till  I  saw  him  leaning  with  his  head  over  the 
lee-bulwark,  and  heard  him  again,  as  I  thought,  apparently 
speaking  to  some  one  down  the  schooner's  side;  upon  which 
I  stepped  across. 

"Jones's  back  was  to  me  as  I  looked  over,  too;  but  owing 
to  what  he  was  busy  with,  I  suppose,  and  the  wash  of  the 
water,  which  was  louder  there  than  inboard,  while  you  heard 
the  plash  from  her  bows  every  time  she  forged  he  evidently 
did  n't  hear  me.  You  may  fancy  my  wonder  to  find  he 
was  reading  aloud  to  himself  from  the  other  of  the  French- 
man's volumes,  which  I  had  no  doubt  left  in  the  dining-cabin 
— the  book  open  in  both  hands,  he  giving  it  forth  in  long 
staves,  with  a  break  between — and  regular  Greek  it  was, 
too.  You  'd  have  thought  he  timed  them  to  the  plash  along- 
side; and  I  must  say,  as  every  string  of  long-tailed  words 
flowed  together  like  one  in  Jones's  deep  voice,  and  the 
swell  rose  once  or  twice  with  its  foam-bells  near  his  very 
hands,  I  almost  fancied  I  made  a  meaning  of  them — each 
like  a  wave,  as  it  were,  sweeping  to  a  crest,  and  breaking. 
The  gusto  the  man  showed  in  it  you  can't  conceive,  and, 
what  was  more,  I  had  no  doubt  he  understood  the  sense 
of  it,  for  all  of  a  sudden,  after  twenty  staves  or  so  of 
the  kind,  he  stopped.  'There!'  said  he,  'there,  old  Homer 
— women,  wine,  and  adventure — what  could  the  devil  ask 
more,  blind  old  prater,  with  a  sound  in  you  like  the  sea? 
Ay,  wash,  wash,  wash  away,  lying  old  blue-water,  you  can't 
wash  it  out — and  wine — no,  not  the  strongest  rum  in  Cape 
Town — can  wash  you  out!'  With  that  Jones  laid  his  head 
on  his  arms,  with  the  book  still  in  one  hand,  muttering  to 
himself,  and  I  listened  in  spite  of  me.  'Still  it  rouses 'the 
old  times  in  me!'  said  he.  'Here  comes  this  book  across 
me,  too.  Ay,  ay,  and  the  rector  fancied,  sitting  teaching  me 
Greek  out  of  old  wild  Homer  all  week  day — and — and  his  girl 
slipping  out  and  in — 't  would  do  to  don  the  cassock  of  a 
Sunday  and  preach  out  of  the  pulpit  against  the  world,  the 
devil,  and  the  flesh — then  warn  me  against  the  sea — ha !' 

"The  laugh  that  came  from  him  at  that  moment  was 
more  like  a  dog  than  a  human  being;  but  on  he  went  mut- 
tering, 'Women,  wine,  and  adventures,  said  ye,  old  Greek, 
and  a  goddess,  too;  still  he  was  a  good  old  man,  the  rector 
— no  guile  nor  evil  in  him,  with  his  books  in  the  cases 
yonder,  and  the  church  spire  seen  through  the  window  over 
the  garden,  and  his  wife  with — ah,  the  less  of  that  the 
better. — 'T  was  in  me,  though,  and  all  our  blood — and  in  her  • 
dark  eyes,  too,  Mary  though  she  was!'  He  broke  out  again, 


342  THE  GREEN  HAND 

after  a  bit,  as  if  he  'd  been  arguing  it  with  something  under 
the  side:  'I  didn't  take  her  the  first  time  1  came  home — • 
nor  the  second — but — but — ay,  I  came  back!  Oh  that  part- 
ing-stile in  sight  of  the  sea — and  that  packet-ship — but  oh 
God !  that  night — that  night  with  the  schooner  forging  ahead 

through  the  blue — blue And  he  stopped  with  a  groan 

that  shook  him  as  he  leaned  over.  'Hellish!'  he  said,  sud- 
denly standing  upright  and  looking  straight  aloft  with  his 
bare  head  and  face  to  the  wide  empty  sky,  and  the  moon- 
light tipping  the  hair  on  his  forehead,  from  over  the  high 
shadow  on  the  lee  side  of  the  mainsail,  where  it  glistened 
along  the  gaff.  'She  was  pure  to  the  last !'  I  heard  him 
say,  though  I  had  walked  to  the  other  side  of  the  boom;  'ay, 
though  I  rot  to  perdition  for  it! — Down,  old  fiend!'  as  he 
lifted  his  one  hand  with  the  book,  and  drove  it  along- 
side, seemingly  watching  it  settle  away  astern. 

"Now  I  had  heard  nothing  from  Jones  that  I  could  n't 
have  fancied  before,  and  there  was  even  a  humor  to  my  rnind 
in  the  notion  of  clapping  it  all  on  old  Homer,  if  Homer 
it  was,  and  heaving  him  overboard  with  such  a  confoundedly 
complimentary  burial-service.  But  some  of  the  words  that 
dropped  from  him  shot  through  one's  veins  like  icicles; 
and  now  there  was  something  fearful  in  the  sight  of  him 
standing 'straight  again,  with  a  look  right  into  the  heavens, 
as  if  he  'd  have  searched  them  up  and  up — in  that  lovely 
night,  too,  spread  far  and  wide — the  very  rays  of  the  moon- 
light sparkled  down  the  weather-side  of  the  sail  1  was  on, 
trembling  on  the  leech-ropes  and  brails  as  they  swayed,  and 
into  the  hollows  they  made  in  the  belly  of  the  taut  can- 
vas; the  long  shining  spot  of  it  wavered  and  settled  on  the 
same  two  planks  of  the  quarter-deck,  beyond  the  shadow  of 
the  bulwark  from  the  moon's  eye,  fast  as  the  schooner  moved 
through  the  water,  and  it  was  like  a  hand  laid  upon  her, 
with  the  air  and  wind  stretching  between.  Of  a  sudden. 
I  saw  Jones  wheel  slowly  round  where  he  stood,  like  a 
man  turned  about  by  main  strength,  with  his  eyes  fixed 
aloft,  and  his  one  arm  raising  from  the  shoulder  till  his 
forefinger  pointed  to  something,  as  I  thought,  about  the 
fore-to'gallant-sail.  His  face  was  like  ashes,  his  eye  glar- 
ing, and  I  sprang  across  to  him  under  the  main-boom.  'See!' 
said  he,  never  turning  his  head,  and  the  words  hissed 
betwixt  his  teeth,  'look  at  that !' 

"Tor  Heaven's  sake,  what,  Mr.  Jones?'  said  I.  'Her — 
her,'  was  his  answer,  'coming  against  the  wind — dead  fore- 
and-aft  in  the  shade  of  the  sails!'  On  the  lee  sides  of 


A  SEA  STORY  343 

them  the  high  boom-sails  made  a  sort  of  a  thin  shadow 
against  the  moonshine  off  the  other  beam,  which  came 
glimpsing  through  between  them  out  of  a  world  of  air 
to  the  south-east,  with  a  double  of  it  flickering  alongside 
on  the  water  as  it  heaved  past  to  leeward;  and  whether  it 
was  fancy,  or  whether  it  was  but  the  reflection  aloft  from 
below,  I  thought  as  I  followed  Jones's  finger,  I  saw  some- 
thing like  the  shape  of  a  woman's  dress  floating  close  in 
with  the  bonnet  of  the  fore-topmast-staysail,  from  the  dusk 
it  made  to  the  breast  of  the  fore-topsail,  and  even  across 
the  gush  of  white  light  under  the  yard — long  and  straight, 
as  it  were,  like  a  thing  lifted  dripping  out  of  water,  and 
going,  as  he  said,  right  against  the  schooner's  course.  'Now 
in  the  foresail!'  whispered  Jones,  his  eye  moving  as  on 
a  pivot,  and  a  thrill  ran  through  me  at  the  notion;  for  L 
made  out  one  single  moment  what  I  thought  a  face  against 
the  sky  at  the  gaff-end,  white  as  death,  shooting  aft  towards 
the  mainsail — though  next  instant  I  saw  it  was  but  a  block 
silvered  by  the  moon  as  the  schooner  lifted.  'Now  the 
mainsail!'  said  he  huskily,  'and  now — now,  by  the  heavens 
— rising — rising  to  the  gaff -topsail — away!  Oh  Lord!  Mary!' 

"He  was  leaning  aft  toward  the  width  of  the  sky,  with 
both  hands  clutched  together  before  him,  shuddering  all 
over.  For  the  first  minute  my  own  blood  crept,  I  must 
say;  but  directly  after  I  touched  him  on  the  shoulder.  'This 
is  strange,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I;  'what's  the  matter?'  'Once 
in  the  Bermudas!'  said  he,  still  wildly,  'once  in  the  Pacific 
— and  now!  Does  the  sea  give  up  its  dead,  though,  think 
ye?'  'You've  a  strong  fancy,  Mr.  Jones,  that's  all,'  I  said, 
sternly.  'Fancy !'  said  he,  though  beginning  to  get  the  better 
of  himself;  'did  ye  ever  fancy  a  face  looking  down — down 
at  you  in  the  utterest  scorn— -down  sideways  off  the  shoul- 
der of  the  garment,  as  it  sticks  wet  into  every  outline  like 
life?  All  the  time  gliding  on  the  other  way,  too,  and  the 
eyes  like  two  stars  a  thousand  miles  away  beyond,  as  kind 
as  angels' — neither  wind  nor  sea  can  stop  it,  till  suddenly 
it  rises  to  the  very  cope  of  heaven — still  looking  scornfully 
down  at  you ! — No,  sir,  fancy  it  you  could  n't !' 

"The  glance  he  gave  me  was  somehow  or  other  such  as 
I  could  n't  altogether  stomach  from  the  fellow,  and  he  was 
turning  to  the  side,  when  I  said  quietly,  'No,  nor  Homer 
either,  I  dare  say!'  Jones  started  and  made  a  step  towards 
me.  'You  heard  me  a  little  ago!'  rapped  out  he,  eying  me. 
'Yes,'  I  said;  'by  Jove!  who  could  help  being  curious  to 
hear  a  sailor  spout  Greek  as  you  were  doing,  Mr.  Jones?' 


344  THE  GREEN  HAND 

'•  'The  fact  is,  Mr.  Collins,'  answered  he,  changing  his 
tone,  'I  was  well  brought  up — the  more  shame  to  me  for 
bringing  myself  to  what  you  saw  me.  I  had  a  sister  drowned, 
too,  on  her  passage  to  America '  one  voyage,  when  I  was 
mate  of  the  ship  myself.  No  wonder  it  keeps  my  nerves 
shaking  sometimes,  when  I  've  had  too  long  about  shore.' 
'Well,  well,  Jones,'  said  I,  rather  softening,  'you  've  proved 
yourself  a  first-rate  seaman,  and  I  've  got  nothing  to  com- 
plain of — but  I  tell  "you  fairly  I  had  my  doubts  of  you! 
So  you  '11  remember  you  're  under  the  Articles  of  War  aboard 
here,  sir,'  added  I,  'which,  as  long  as  I  have  this  schooner 
under  hand,  I  '11  be  hanged  if  I  don't  carry  out !'  All  at 
once  the  thought  struck  me,  a  little  inconveniently,  of  my 
carrying  off  Webb,  and  his  people,  and  I  fancied  Jones's 
quick  eye  wandered  to  the  Lascars  forward.  'I  know  it,  sir,' 
said  he,  looking  me  steadily  in  the  face ;  'and  what 's  more, 
Mr.  Collins,  at  any  rate  I  could  n't  forget  you  picked  me 
out,  confounded  low  as  I  looked,  to  come  aft  here.  'T  is 
not  every  captain  afloat  that  has  such  a  good  eye  for  a 
seaman,  as  /  know!'  'Oh,  well,  no  more  about  it,'  I  said, 
walking  forward  on  the  weather-side,  and  leaving  him  on 
the  lee  one  as  distinctly  as  Lord  Frederick  Bury  could  have 
done  to  myself  in  the  frigate.  Jones  no  doubt  thought  I 
did  n't  notice  the  slight  wrinkle  that  gathered  round  his 
lee  eye  when  he  gave  me  this  touch  of  butter  at  the  end; 
but  I  put  it  down  for  nothing  more,  gammon  though  it  was. 

"It  was  near  the  end  of  the  watch,  the  moon  beginning 
to  set,  while  it  still  wanted  three  hours  of  daybreak  in 
those  latitudes,  when  the  lookout  on  the  topgallant-yard, 
who  was  stationed  there  in  man-o'-war  cruising  fashion, 
reported  a  sail  to  windward.  Just  then  the  midshipman 
came  on  deck  to  his  watch,  wonderfully  early  for  him  in- 
deed, and  on  my  remarking  it  was  probably  the  Indiaman 
at  last,  Jones  himself  went  aloft  with  the  night-glass  to 
make  her  out.  'Mr.  Snelling,'  said  I,  'see  the  hands  on 
deck  ready  for  going  about.'  Next  minute  I  saw  him  rous- 
ing up  the  rest  of  the  Lascars,  who  slept  watch  and  watch 
on  the  forecastle.  Only  five  or  six  of  the  'Hebe's'  men 
were  up,  and  all  of  them,  save  the  man  at  the  wheel,  ran 
aloft  to  rig  out  stun-stail  booms  to  windward,  as  soon  as 
the  schooner  was  fairly  on  the  starboard  tack,  standing  to 
nor' -eastward.  Suddenly  I  saw  a  scuffle  between  the  mid- 
shipman and  the  tindal,*  a  stout,  dark-faced  young  Ben- 
galee, with  a  jaunty  skull-cap  and  frock,  whom  Snelliug 

*  Lascar  boatswain's  mate. 


A  SEA  STORY  345 

had  probably  helped  along  with  a  touch  of  a  rope's  end, 
and  in  a  moment  two  or  three  more  of  them  were  upon 
him,  while  the  reefer  drew  his  dirk,  and  sung  out  to  me, 
scarce  before  I  was  with  him,  the  Lascars  rolling  into 
ihe  lee-scuppers  at  two  kicks  of  my  foot. 

"Webb  and  three  of  the  men  from  Cape  Town  were 
hoisting  a  stun-sail  at  the  time,  the  smart  man-o'-war's- 
nien  aloft  singing  out  to  them  to  bear  a  hand.  What  with 
the  noise  of  the  sail  flapping,  and  its  being  betwixt  my 
own  men  and  the  deck,  they  could  know  nothing  of  the 
matter;  and  the  Lascars  let  go  the  halyards  in  a  body,  mak- 
ing a  rush  at  Snelling  and  myself  with  everything  thex 
could  pick  up  in  the  shape  of  a  spar. 

"This  would  have  been  nothing,  as  in  two  or  three  minutes 
more  the  men  would  have  been  down,  and  the  cocoa-faced 
rascals  dodged  every  way  from  the  handspike  I  got  hold 
of;  but  I  just  caught  a  glimpse  on  one  side  of  the  sly  old 
serang  shoving  on  the  fire-scuttle  to  keep  down  the  watch 
below,  and  on  the  other,  of  Webb  looking  round  him,  evi- 
dently to  see  how  matters  stood.  Two  Dutchmen  seized  the 
first  sailor  that  came  down  the  rigging,  by  the  legs,  and  1 
saw  the  affair  must  be  finished  at  once,  it  had  so  much  the 
look  of  a  regular  plot  on  Webb's  part,  if  Jones  was  n't  con- 
cerned in  it,  too.  I  made  one  spring  upon  my  Cape  Town 
gentleman,  and  took  him  by  the  throat  with  one  hand,  while 
1  hit  the  biggest  Dutchman  full  behind  the  ear,  felling 
him  to  the  deck,  on  which  the  man-o'-war's-man  grappled 
his  watch-mate,  and  Webb  was  struggling  with  me  suf- 
ficiently to  keep  both  my  hands  full,  when  I  had  a  pleasant 
inkling  of  a  Malay  Lascar  slipping  toward  my  back  with 
a  bare  creese  in  his  fist. 

"I  just  looked  over  ray  shoulder  at  his  black  eyes  twinkling 
devilishly  before  he  sprang,  when  some  one  came  sliding  fair 
down  from  the  fore-topmast-head  by  a  back-stay,  and  pitched 
in  a  twinkling  on  top  of  his  head — a  thing  enough  to  break 
the  neck  of  a  monument.  Directly  after,  I  saw  Jones  him- 
self hitting  right  and  left  with  his  night-glass,  from  the 
moonlight  to  the  shadow  of  the  foresail,  while  Snelling  tum- 
bled over  a  Lascar  at  every  slap,  standing  up  in  boxer-style. 
By  the  time  the  rest  of  the  men  came  down  all  was  set- 
tled—the Dutchmen  sulking  against  the  bulwarks,  and  Webb 
gasping  after  I  let  him  go.  'Boatswain,'  said  I  to  one  of 


346  THE  GREEN  HAND 

'Did  n't  you  carry  us  off  illegally  ?'  said  lie.  'I  only  meant 
to  recover  the  vessel — upon  my  honor,  nothing  more,  sir;  and 
if  you  're  'ard  with  me,  you  '11  have  to  answer  for  it,  I  as- 
sure you!'  Here  he  looked  round  to  Jones  in  a  strange 
way,  as  I  fancied,  for  a  moment;  but  Jones  turned  on  his 
heel  with  a  sneer.  'Why,  Mr.  Webb,'  answered  I,  'you  lost 
that  tack  by  offering  yourself  in  a  watch,  which  makes 
the  thing  neither  more  nor  less  than  mutiny — so  take  him 
below,  do  ye  hear,  bo'sun!'  And  down  he  went. 

"  'Now,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  as  soon  as  all  hands  were  on 
deck,  'you  '11  be  so  good  as  have  half  of  these  Lascars 
seized  to  the  rigging  here,  one  after  the  other,  and  see  a 
good  dozen  given  to  each  of  their  backs;  then  these  two 
Dutchmen,  each  three  dozen — then  pipe  down  the  watch,  sir.' 

"Jones  glanced  at  me,  then  at  the  fellows,  then  at  me 
again.  I  thought  he  hung  aback  for  an  instant;  but  do  it 
T  was  determined  he  should,  for  a  reason  I  had;  and  I  gave 
him  back  the  look  steady  as  stone.  'Ay,  ay,  sir,'  said  he, 
at  last,  touching  his  hat.  I  walked  aft  to  the  capstan,  and 
stood  there  till  every  mother's  son  of  them  had  got  his 
share,  the  Lascar^  wriggling  and  howling  on  the  deck  after 
it,  and  the  Dutchmen  twisting  their  backs  as  they  walked 
off.  'T  was  the  first  time  I  did  that  part  of  duty  in  com- 
mand, and  I  felt,  in  the  circumstances,  I  was  in  for  car- 
rying it  out  with  a  taut  hand. 

"By  this  time  the  moon  was  setting,  and  in  the  dusk  we 
lost  sight  of  the  sail  to  windward;  but  as  we  were  heading 
well  up  to  weather  upon  her,  and  going  at  least  ten  knots, 
I  turned  in  below  for  a  little,  leaving  the  midshipman.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  was  n't  very  long  before  Snelling  called  me 
in  broad  daylight.  'She  's  a  large  ship,  Mr.  Collins,'  said  he, 
'standing  under  all  sail  on  a  wind.  I  hope  to  goodness,  sir, 
it 's  that  confounded  Indiaman  at  last !'  I  hurried  on  deck, 
took  the  glass  aloft,  and  soon  made  out  the  jury  fore-top- 
mast shorter  than  the  main,  as  the  old  captain  mentioned. 
Accordingly,  it  was  with  somewhat  of  a  flutter  in  me  I 
came  down  again,  watching  the  schooner's  trim  below  and 
aloft,  to  see  if  I  could  n't  take  an  hour  or  so  off  the  time 
betwixt  that  and  once  more  setting  eyes  on  the  Judge's 
daughter. 


A  SEA  STORY  34; 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"AFTER  breakfast-time  the  breeze  freshened  again,  and 
the  ship  had  evidently  perceived  us,  as  well  as  the  fact 
of  our  having  hauled  on  a  wind  to  make  up  with  her  course; 
for  we  could  see  her  hoisting  out  one  stun-sail  after  another 
to  the  lee  side,  and  keeping  oft'  in  order  to  give  them  full 
play.  This  was  what  I  was  afraid  of,  in  fact,  that  our 
looking  her  way  in  the  circumstances  would  make  her  show 
her  heels;  and  being  hull  down,  almost  dead  to  windward 
of  us,  with  her  spread  of  sail  to  such  a  breeze  as  the  pres- 
ent, it  was  like  to  be  a  troublesome  matter  ere  we  got 
within  signalling  distance;  especially  if  she  had  kept  hold 
of  her  wind  a  little  more,  instead  of  falling  off  before 
it  as  she  did,  which  tended  the  schooner  always  steadily 
to  weather  upon  her,  the  sharper  we  kept  her  nose  to  the 
sun  in  the  spray.  Indeed,  the  wind  during  the  forenoon 
came  gradually  round  more  in  our  favor,  till  it  stood  south- 
east by  east  or  so;  by  which  time,  however,  we  had  dropped 
her  topsails  from  the  deck,  then  her  to'gallant-sails,  to,  a 
white  speck  far  down  on  the  lee-bow.  We  weathered  fast 
upon  her,  and  I  fancied  I  made  out  the  yellow  India 
patches  in  her  canvas;  when,  on  turning  about,  I  caught 
Jones's  glance  at  me,  as  if  he  could  n't  understand  my 
eagerness,  or  else  had  got  curious  what  the  schooner  wanted 
with  the  ship  at  all.  'She  loses,  I  think,  sir,'  said  he, 
looking  off  to  her  again.  'Little  doubt  of  that,  Mr.  Jones/ 
said  I.  'I  know  that  Indiaman's  sailing  to  a  tee — but 
we  shan't  overhaul  her  at  this  rate  an  hour  too  soon,  before 
she  might  have  a  chance  of  dropping  us  in  the  dark,  or 
our  running  to  leeward  of  her  again.'  'Why,  yes,'  said  Jones, 
carelessly,  'if  they  knew  how  to  do  it,  sir.'  'By  George! 
Mr.  Collins,'  exclaimed  Snelling,  T  see  her  stern-gallery 
sparkling  in  the  run  of  the  surges.' 

"In  a  little  while  we  could  notice  her  canvas  darken 
slowly  from  the  courses  to  the  to'gallant-sails,  leaving  the 
royals  and  studding-sails  whiter  than  before:  they  were 
wetting  her  sails.  'She  must  take  us  for  something  bad, 
Lieutenant  Collins!'  remarked  Jones,  as  if  the  thing  were 
at  all  doubtful.  'A  pirate,  in  fact,'  added  the  reefer,  with 
a  grin.  'Why,  sir,'  said  he,  'these  Company's  men  seem 
to  think  the  sea  swarms  with  pirates,  though  I'm  blessed 
if  we've  been  so  lucky  as  to  sight  even  the  tail-feather 


348  THE  GREEN  HAND 

of  one — my  eye !  though,  how  the  griffins  must  be  skipping 
about  just  now!' 

"The .  truth  was,  the  nearer  we  got,  the  more  it  struck 
me  that,  altered  as  the  schooner  was  aloft,  our  red  streak 
and  lead-colored  sides  were  just  as  the  first  time  I  saw 
them ;  which  would  n't  do  much  toward  settling  the  India- 
man's  doubts  of  us,  for  they  couldn't  fail  to  remember 
her  the  moment  our  hull  came  in  sight;  and  as  for  my 
own  character  all  along  aboard  the  'Seringapatam,'  why, 
neither  first  nor  last  did  it  seem  to  stand  in  good  odor. 
'Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  as  we  slipped  quietly  through  the  water, 
'have  you  got  any  old  canvas  at  hand,  sir? — be  so  good  as 
have  it  ripped  up  in  lengths,  and  fast  clapped  outside  from 
stem  to  stern  along  that  red  streak  of  ours,  up  as  far  as 
the  plank  sheer,  missing  the  ports — give  her  a  good  broad 
white  stripe,  sir,  instead!'  'Ay,  ay,  sir!'  answered  he,  with 
a  gleam  in  his  eye  as  he  turned  off,  half  knowing,  half  in 
surprise.  'And,  Mr.  Snelling,'  continued  I,  'hark  ye,  see 
all  the  hammocks  stowed  over  the  bulwarks  in  her  waist — 
and  run  both  those  long-guns  forward,  chock  into  the  eyes 
of  her,  to  bring  her  down  by  the  head  a  little — keep  the 
men  on  the  fok'sle,  too — she  looks  rather  rakish  at  present, 
I  must  confess!' 

"All  this  the  young  gentleman  seemed  to  do  with  as 
rueful  a  look  as  if  he  were  putting  knee-breeches  and  gaiters 
in  place  of  white  ducks,  on  his  own  lower  timbers;  and 
presently  he  came  aft  to  ask  if  he  might  n't  stick  a  shot  into 
each  of  the  guns.  'What  for!'  said  I.  'Oh,'  said  the  mid- 
shipman, 'won't  she  show  fight  at  all,  sir,  then?'  Just  then 
the  white  range  of  the  Indiaman's  heavy  quarter-gallery 
came  into  view,  then  the  bulge  of  her  big  hulking  body  half 
on  to  us,  with  a  port-lid  or  two  raised  in  the  white  band : 
we  were  to  windward  of  her,  already,  stealing  up  on  her 
quarter.  'My  eye!'  said  Snelling,  'she  could  blow  us  out 
of  water,  if  she  chose,  Mr.  Collins,  and  only  had 
pluck  enough.'  'Why,  that 's  all  you  know  about  it,  Mr. 
Snelling,'  said  I,  with  a  laugh,  'since  she  don't  carry  long 
muzzles  in  her  side,  and  in  a  light  breeze  like  this  we  could 
— however,  'as  we  happen  to  be  friends,  that 's  of  no  mo- 
ment, Mr.  Snelling.'  'After  all,  though,'  I  added,  'you  may 
load  once,  and  stand  by  to  fire  across  her  course,  if  re- 
quired; but,  for  tire  life  of  you,  Snelling,'  said  I,  seriously, 
'in  any  case,  if  I  give  the  word  to  fire,  don't  let  anything  in 
the  shape  of  iron  go  near  that  ship's  hull !  By  Jove !  sir, 


A  SEA  STORY  349 

I'd  let  her  blow  us  out  of  the  water  first,  or  else  show 
her  our  heels,  myself!' 

"Well,  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  there  we  were  coming 
down  actually  on  the  ship's  quarter,  from  windward;  when 
we  took  in  our  flying-kites,  clued  up  gaif  and  fore-topsails, 
and  to'gallant-sail,  leaving  St.  George's  flag  fluttering  bright 
at  the  main-peak,  and  our  long  coach-whip  streaming  from 
the  mast-head,  while  she  kept  gliding  easily  ahead  under 
nothing  but  the  two  boomsails  and  large  jib.  Still  the 
Indiaman  gave  no  other  sign  except  showing  the  British 
ensign,  then  her  striped  Company's  flag  under  it,  at  the 
mizzen-peak:  she  went  jogging  steadily  on,  as  I  was  afraid 
she  would,  like  a  fellow  giving  you  the  go-by  in  the  street. 
'Nothing  else  for  it,  after  all,  Mr.  Snelling,'  said  1,  walking 
forward,  as  we  got  within  long  range.  'The  confounded 
fools !'  I  could  n't  help  saying,  'do  they  think  a  piratical 
craft  would  give  herself  the  trouble  of  hoisting  all  the  flags 
in  Christendom  one  after  the  other,  and  she,  of  course,  with 
a  long-Tom  on  a  pivot  amidships?  Mr.  Jones,  oblige  me  by 
pitching  a  shot  right  across  her  fore-foot.'  Jones  stepped 
forward,  had  the  gun  slued,  and  blew  the  match.  'Are  you 
ready?'  said  I — 'now  mind  your  eye — fire!'  and  the  ball  went 
spinning  from  the  top  of  one  swell  to  another  beyond  the 
Indiaman's  bows,  rather  wide  of  the  mark,  as  I  thought: 
when,  all  at  once,  the  smoke  had  scarce  cleared  away  betwixt 
us  ere  I  saw  her  jib-sheets  fly,  and  the  Indiaman  luffing  up  in 
the  wind.  Jones  started,  as  almost  next  moment  we  could 
see  the  spritsail-yard  hanging  in  two  across  the  spars — 1 
must  say,  rather  to  my  own  surprise,  in  spite  of  a  good 
deal  of  old  cruising  practice. 

"  'A  good  aim,  sir !'  remarked  he,  turning  round.  'There 
goes  her  mainyard,  now!'  said  Snelling;  and  she  seemed  to 
be  heaving-to,  when  the  mainsail  filled  again,  and  on  she 
stood  as  before;  then  actually  broached-to,  all  aback,  and 
gathering  stern-way  with  her  bows  fairly  facing  us;  while  the 
black  figure-head  under  the  bowsprit  showed  me  his  turban 
again  once  more,  like  a  fellow  leaning  over  a  horse  he  could- 
n't manage.  'What  the  mischief  are  the  lubbers  about!'  i 
said,  'can't  they  heave-to  at  once  and  be  done  with  it,  now 
that  I  fancy  they  see  their  mistake  t' 

"Here  Jones,  who  had  got  aft  and  stood  up  on  the  taffrail, 
jumped  down  again  all  at  once,  and  met  me  at  the  capstan. 
^Lieutenant  Collins,'  said  he  in  a  low  voice,  and  looking  me 
straight  in  the  face  with  a  very  queer  expression,  'the  ship 
has  siruckl'  'Struck !'  repeated  I,  starting ;  and  he,  Snelling, 


350  THE  GREEN  HAND 

and  I  sprang  to  the  taffrail  together.  There  was  the  India- 
man,  in  fact,  at  length  heaving  into  the  wind,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  off  our  lee-beam,  with  her  two  ensigns 
hauled  down,  and  something  flying  instead  of  them  at 
the  gaff -end,  which  I  could  n't  make  out.  Our  helm  was  put 
up,  and  the  schooner  edged  swiftly  down  to  her,  slipping 
along  in  sight  of  her  stretch  of  bulwarks  till  we  had  hove-to 
abreast  of  her  starboard  bow. 

"  'What  ship  is  that  ?'  hailed  I  from  abaft,  as  we  ran  past 
in  the  shadow  of  her  sails;  and  I  saw  my  gentleman  'first 
officer,'  Finch,  standing  up  in  her  mizzen-chains  with  the 
trumpet,  more  dashing  than  ever,  as  he  had  poor  Captain 
Williamson's  uniform  coat  and  hat  on,  apparently,  and  a 
sword  by  his  side:  her  whole  quarter-bulwark  bristling  with 
spyglasses  and  gun-barrels  turned  upon  the  schooner,  though 
not  another  head  could  be  seen.  'The  Honorable  East  In — 
began  Finch ;  but  that  moment  there  was  a  perfect  hubbub  of 
cries  and  cheers,  as  a  dozen  faces  I  knew  well  showed  them- 
selves popping  up  from  the  quarter-deck:  Old  Rollock  in  a 
huge  straw  hat  and  his  shirt-sleeves,  with  a  ship's  musket  in 
his  fists;  Ford,  Winterton,  and  the  cadets — the  long-faced 
Scotch  surgeon,  and  Macleod's  screwed  nose  and  red  whiskers 
— every  eye  fixed  on  me,  as  I  fancied,  not  to  say  three  or  four 
rusty  barrels.  Their  confusion  and  bewilderment  was  rare  to 
witness;  and  being  forty  hands  of  us — the  Lascars'  out- 
landish physiognomies  and  all — why,  the  schooner  must  have 
looked  rather  respectable  as  she  still  slid  ahead. 

"In  the  meantime,  the  look  of  our  smart  'Hebe's'  men,  with 
the  frigate's  name  shining  in  front  of  their  regular-built  hats, 
and  everything  about  us,  not  to  say  the  reefer's  naval  uni- 
form and  mine,  seemed  to  have  set  the  Indiaman's  people 
more  at  their  ease;  till,  when  our  gig's  crew  was  ready  to 
lower  away,  there  was  even  a  glimpse  of  ladies  to  be  seen 
along  toward  her  poop.  Every  moment  I  expected  the  sight 
of  a  certain  face  to  flash  on  me  from  over  the  black  rail,  as 
the  ship  rolled  and  plunged  in  the  heave  of  water  opposite  us, 
showing  her  broad  white  band,  with  the  drips  of  rust  across 
it  from  her  chain-plates.  'We  made  somewhat  of  an  awkward 
mistake,  sir!'  hailed  Finch,  eying  me  queerly  enough,  and 
trying  to  appear  at  his  ease.  'So  I  supposed,  sir,'  said  I;  'I 
shall  send  a  boat  aboard  of  you  directly' ;  and  I  turned  to  the 
midshipman,  who  stood  surveying  the  ship  from  stem  to  stern 
with  his  nose  turned  away  from  her,  and  his  hands  in  the 
tails  of  his  coat,  speaking  all  the  time  to  Mr.  Jones,  though 


A  SEA  STORY  351 

the  latter  was  apparently  the  least  interested  of  the  two,  for 
he  had  his  eye  seaward. 

"  'Mr.  Snelling,'  said  I,  'd'  ye  see  that  gentleman  yonder 
near  the  main-rigging,  with  the  black  hat  on  ?  You  '11  go 
aboard  in  the  gig,  sir,  give  your  commanding-officer's  com- 
pliments to  the  captain  of  the  Indiaman,  and  mention  to  him 
that  that  gentleman  is  wanted  here — Westwood  his  name  is.' 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,  my  head  was  in  a  perfect  whirl  at 
knowing  that,  if  I  chose,  five  minutes  could  set  me  within 
speaking  distance  of  Violet — yet  you  'd  scarce  believe  1 
actually  almost  made  up  my  mind  not  to  go  on  deck  again 
till  our  sheets  were  hauled  aft,  and  we  leaving  the  ship  astern. 
Bless  your  heart  I  was  n't  aware  till  that  minute  whatl  felt 
for  her;  everything  about  the  voyage  from  Portsmouth  came 
back  so  fresh  on  me,  at  sight  of  the  different  parts  about  the 
old  'SeringapatamV  bulwarks,  to  the  very  odds-and-ends  of 
ropes  hanging  alongside  that  blessed  lumbering  coach-house 
of  hers  amidships,  and  the  live-stock  cackling  and  bleating  in 
it  between  times !  And  there  was  I  glancing  aft  into  our 
little  stern-cabins,  which  I  fancied  two  or  three  days  ago 
might  serve  for  their  passage.  But  now,  though  I  had  a 
pretty  sharp  guess  these  same  cabins  were  meant  originally 
for  neither  more  nor  less  than  an  emperor  himself,  why, 
I  saw  the  very  notion  was  too  ridiculous  to  mention! 
'Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  speaking  up  the  skylight,  'as  soon  as 
you  see  that  passenger  is  in  the  boat,  have  the  head  sheets 
hauled  aft,  sir,  and  the  helm  put  up  to  make  sail.'  'Ay,  ay, 
sir,'  said  he;  but  directly  after,  he  added  in  a  low  voice, 
'I  believe  though,  sir,  we  are  not  likely  to  part  company 
from  this  ship  so  soon!'  'How,  sir!'  exclaimed  I  sharply, 
and  starting  up  off  the  chair  to  see  him,  for  something 
in  the  cool,  collected  tone  of  his  voice  jarred  on  me  the 
more  on  account  of  the  state  I  was  in  myself — 'what  do  you 
mean  by  that?'  i  had  merely  to  catch  sight  of  my  mate's 
broad  throat  and  hairy  chin,  however,  as  he  stood  with  his 
full  chest  thrown  back,  and  one  hand  in  his  waistcoat,  looking 
aloft  by  the  skylight,  when,  following  his  eye  to  our  maingaff, 
it  was  easy  to  know  the  last  fanning  of  the  wind;  which, 
taken  together  with  the  schooner's  yerking  motion  abaft,  was 
sufficient  to  give  you  word  of  a  calm.  'We  have  lost  the  breeze 
for  to-night,  at  any  rate,  sir,'  said  Jones,  letting  his  eyes  sud- 
denly fall  upon  me,  and  meeting  the  flicker  of  pleasure  I 
could  n't  help  showing  on  my  face.  'Confound  the  thing  I  you 
don't  say  so,  Mr.  Jones!'  rejoined  I  quickly.  'Then  as  long 
as  she  has  a  foot's  steerage-way,  sir,  let  her  slip  off  the  India- 


352  THE  GREEN  HAND 

man's  bow  at  once — else  the  two  of  us  will  be  grinding 
together  ere  daylight  like  a  couple  of  mill-stones  without 
corn !' 

"On  deck  there  were  twenty  things  worth  noticing,  that 
struck  one  at  the  same  time.  The  schooner's  light  spars  and 
white  canvas  seen  sharp  against  the  white  glare  of  light  in 
the  west,  as  she  settled  round  on  the  ship's  other  bow;  while 
the  light  air  high  aloft  in  the  Indiaman's  royals  still  kept 
steadying  her  with  her  lee  side  to  the  sunset,  where  it  made  a 
red  trough  along  the  horizon  down  through  a  golden  cloud  or 
two,  that  looked  like  bright-winged  things  whirling  off  and 
about  the  sun. 

"Our  gig  was  holding  off  by  the  boat-hook  from  her  lee- 
quarter,  the  oars  upended,  and  two  or  three  sailors,  with  their 
heads  shoved  out  under  a  portlid  on  the  main-deck,  talking  to 
the  boat's  crew,  while  a  few  of  the  men  hung  over  the  high 
black  topsides,  peering  aft  at  the  gig;  the  rest  being  gathered 
in  the  ship's  bows,  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  schooner.  The 
huge  round  of  the  sun  went  down  astern  like  the  mouth  of  a 
furnace,  sending  a  broad  stream  of  red  light  across  the  face 
of  the  water  with  every  wet  streak  and  wrinkle  shown  heav- 
ing in  it,  right  up  to  the  Indiaman's  white  band  and  her 
pitch-black  bulwarks.  Her  quarter-galleries  lashed  out,  and 
you  saw  the  passengers'  heads  aft  through  the  red  arch  under 
the  wide  mainsail-foot,  till  every  face  shone  crimson-bright 
out  of  the  awning  below;  and  I  could  see  the  midshipman's 
gold  band  glisten  as  he  took  his  cap  off  to  some  ladies  coming 
down  the  poop-stair,  amidst  a  hubbub  of  cadets  turning 
round  to  eye  the  schooner.  For  half  a  minute  the  smooth 
sea  all  astern  of  the  ship  seemed  to  wash  to  her  water-line  in 
a  flood  of  light  and  blood  almost,  as  if  the  horizon  vanished; 
then  the  tip  of  the  sun  went  down  like  a  burning  ruby,  the 
blue  heave  of  water  sank  away  from  the  copper  at  the 
Indiaman's  bows,  giving  us  an  easy  lift  at  the  other  side  of 
the  swell,  and  the  whole  compass  of  the  sea  appeared  to  slide 
round  cool  and  clear  against  the  soft  flush  of  all  possible  tints 
in  the  west;  till  the  deep  indigo  hue  of  the  calm  spread 
melting  off  from  both  of  us. 

"What  I  gave  most  heed  to  was  the  knots  of  men's  faces 
on  the  'Seringapatam's'  forecastle,  as  the  golden  gleam  of 
light,  and  the  red  glare,  struck  across  them  with  all  sorts  of 
queer  touches,  that  brought  back  every  one  of  them  clearly  to 
mind  at  once;  and,  stepping  forward  where  Mr.  Jones's  figure 
was  to  be  seen  dark  against  the  pale  glow  in  the  west,  I  could 
easily  make  out  ugly  Harry's  big  buffalo  head,  as  he  leaned 


A  SEA  STORY  353 

his  chin  on  his  two  hands,  and  surveyed  us  up  and  down,  with 
his  dirty  tarpaulin  on  the  back  of  his  head  as  usual,  and  his 
shaggy  black  hair  like  thatch  over  his  forehead,  almost  down 
to  the  meeting  ol  his  thick  eyebrows.  The  moment  I  ap- 
peared Mister  Harry  Foster  shifted  himself  with  a  start, 
looked  aloft  to  his  own  ship,  and  began  to  whistle  as  if  for 
wind;  the  same  moment  Jones  turned  and  noticed  me,  too, 
and  the  difference  of  the  two  men's  faces  struck  me  the  more, 
that  I  could  n't  help  thinking  extremes  met.  'That  fellow 
there  seems  to  like  us  so  well,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  laughing, 
'that  I  've  half  a  mind  to  bring  him  aboard,  as  I  could!'  'Who 
— which,  sir?'  said  the  mate,  looking  to  every  part  of  the 
Indiaman  but  the  right  one.  'Why,  that  misbegotten-like 
rascal  you  were  looking  at/  said  I;  'I  know  a  little  of  him, 
and  a  more  thorough  blackguard  does  n't  walk  planks !' 
'There 's  the  boat,  though,  Lieutenant  Collins !'  said  Jones 
suddenly:  the  boat-hook  struck  our  mizzen-chains  on  the 
other  side  in  the  dusk,  and  next  minute  Tom  Westwood 
swung  himself  on  board,  with  the  midshipman  and  Old  Rol- 
lock  the  planter  following  in  his  wake;  the  last,  to  my  sur- 
prise, carrying  two  hat-boxes  and  an  umbrella. 

"  'Why,  Ned  Collins !'  broke  out  Westwood,  'what  is  the 
meaning  of  all  this — what  wind  has  blown  you  here?'  'My 
dear  fellow !'  shouted  the  planter,  almost  jumping  on  top  of 
me,  'I  never  in  my  life  saw  the  like  of  you — the  very  same 
infernal  schooner,  too!  Come,  let's  hear — have  you  taken 
'em  all  then,  head  and  tail — have  you ' 

"  Tor  Heaven's  sake,  Mr.  Rollock,'  said  I,  sheering  out  of 
his  way  as  well  as  I  could,  'come  below,  sir,  if  I  must  answer 
all  these  questions!'  'So  you  are  actually  in  command?' 
said  Westwood ;  and  hereupon  I  gave  him  the  bearings  of  his 
own  affair,  with  the  fact  of  my  falling  in  with  Lord  Frederick 
Bury,  of  course;  and  of  all  men  in  the  world,  I  believe,  the 
'Honorable  Bury'  was  the  one  Westwood  could  feel  com- 
fortable under,  as  his  face  showed  at  the  time.  'Whether  i 
lose  you  or  not  in  the  Hoogly,  Tom,'  said  I,  'I  dare,  say  you  '11 
find  "yourself  in  the  end  aboard  the  "Hebe,"  in  some  shape 
or  other !  and  meantime  I  shall  be  glad  of  you  here  for  a  first 
mate.'  'Well,  well,'  put  in  the  planter  again,  impatiently, 
after  having  kept  questioning  me  every  now  and  then  for  the 
last  ten  minutes,  which  I  answered  without  well  knowing 
what  he  said — 'then  you  hung  him,  of  course?'  'IT mm' 
whom?'  asked  I,  obliged  to  attend  by  Mr.  Pollock's  per- 
severance. 'Why,  El  Americano,  to  bo  sure — the  ^nnkoe — 
Snout!'  said  he,  trying  to  lengthen  his  face  for  the  news. 


354  THE  GREEN  HAND 

'Hung  him — no!'  said  I,  laughing;  'when  I  saw  him  on  deck 
there,  last,  he  was  lively  enough,  and  anxious  to  get  those 
images  of  his  out  of  the  "Seringapatam."  '  The  planter's  rosy 
gills  turned  a  shade  or  two  paler,  and  he  started  off  his  seat. 
'God  bless  me!'  said  he,  in  a  low  voice,  and  looking  over  his 
shoulder,  'you  don't  mean  to  say  you  've  brought  the  man 
back  on  me.  I  declare  to  you  I  lost  a  few  pounds  of  my  weight 
here  before,  by  his  actually  conceiving  a  friendship  for  me !' 
Old  Rollock's  dismay  was  so  comical  that  I  could  scarce  find 
in  my  heart  to  ease  his  mind,  as  I  did. 

"  'Why,  my  dear  fellow,'  said  Westwood,  with  a  smile,  'I 
assure  you  that  disappearance  of  yours  took  me  by  surprise. 
Indeed,  I  only  guessed,  from  something  Captain  Finch  let 
drop  afterwards,  how  it  came  about ;  and  till  the  very  moment 
the  brig-of-war  got  under  way,  I  fancied  you  had  some  other 
plan  in  view,  or  else  you  never  would  have  carried  it  out. 
The  fact  was,  Ned,  if  your  heart  was  bound  for  India,  mine 
was  ashore  in  Old  England,  and  I  'd  rather  have  run  the  risk 
to  go  back!'  Here  Tom  caught  my  glance,  and  looked  shyly 
into  one  waistcoat  pocket,  then  into  another,  fidgeting  on  his 
chair,  poor  fellow!  in  a  way  that  brought  my  sister  Jane's 
gray  eyes,  and  her  demure  little  arch  face,  distinctly  before 
me,  thousands  of  miles  as  there  were  between  us  and  Croy- 
don.  The  thought  of  the  'Seringapatam'  being  so  near,  on 
the  other  hand,  somehow  rushed  on  me  at  the  same  time,  and 
I  felt  wonderfully  mild  toward  Tom.  'Hang  it,  Tom !'  said  I, 
'never  mind  thinking  if  it — mix  your  grog,  man,  and  con- 
found all  care  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  You  're  well  off ! 
For  my  part,'  said  I,  'I  had  no  notion  at  all  how  that  case 
stood,  so  I  made  a  cursed  mistake  in  the  matter — but  here  's 
luck!' 

"  'However,'"  said  he,  'I  saw  your  drift  by  that  time ; 
and  the  young  lady  herself  was  in  the  fore-cabin  when  I 
told  her  father  the  whole  story,  not  long  after  you  went 
off.  'T  was  no  use  with  Sir  Charles,  though,  to  say  you 
were  only  carrying  out  the  joke  to  screen  me,  and  amuse 
yourself  at  the  same  time — he  was  sure  you  were  after 
some  scheme;  and  all  the  while  Miss  Hyde  sat  sewing  on  the 
sofa  behind  us,  as  quiet  and  careless  as  if  she  did  n't  hear  a 
word,  or  trouble  herself  about  the  matter.  When  I  came 
upon  your  vanishing  so  suddenly  in  the  brig,  however,  and 
said  I  was  sure,  by  that  time,  you  did  so  in  order  to  let  me 
clear  off,  I  had  my  eye  on  the  looking-glass  opposite  the 
young  lady;  and  whatever  you  may  make  of  it,  Ned,  I  can 
tell  you  she  started  and  glanced  up  at  that  point.'  'Well, 


A  SEA  STORY  355 

and  what  of  that?'  I  asked.  But  Westwood  went  on — 'it 
was  all  one  to  Sir  Charles,  nevertheless,  whatever  way  i 
turned  it.  According  to  him,  this  was  just  of  a  piece  with 
the  rest  of  your  doings,  which  showed  the  bad  effects  of  the 
naval  service.  'T  was  no  use  my  standing  up  for  you,  saying 
how  fast  you  had  risen,  and  would  rise,  if  you  had  the  right 
thing  to  do — for  the  old  gentleman  allowed  everything,  adding 
it  was  so  much  the  worse  for  such  fellows  to  be  set  loose.  "L 
tell  you  what,  Mr.  Westwood,"  said  he,  looking  round  sharply, 
as  if  he  were  speaking  at  somebody  else,  "there  is  a  soul  of 
mischief  in  that  young  man  that  nothing  will  root  out,  unfit- 
ting him  for  everything  else,  however  admirably  it  may  be 
suited  to  maritime  pursuits  or  to  savage  warfare.  In  short," 
added  the  Judge,  drawing  himself  up,  "it  is  my  conviction  he 

will  either  be  drowned  or  knocked  on  the  head " '     'The 

precious  old  curmudgeon!'  I  rapped  out,  betwixt  laughter 
and  rage  at  the  thought  of  her  hearing  all  this  pretty  charac- 
ter of  me.  '  "And  I  must  say,  my  young  friend/'  said  the 
Judge,"!  felt  much  relieved  at  finding  Councillor  Westwood's 
nephew  so  different  an  individual — exceedingly  relieved! 
Besides  that,  you  cannot,  of  course,  continue  in  the  navy!" 
Just  at  this  moment,'  continued  Westwood,  'I  saw  the  young 
lady  gather  up  her  work  behind  us  with  a  sparkle  in  her  eye, 
rise  off  the  sofa,  and  walk  straight  aft  through  the  cabin- 
door.' 

"  'Was  that  all?'  said  I,  biting  my  lip.  'All,  you  heathen!' 
answered  Tom,  laughing.  'Why,  what  would  you  have?  I'll 
be  bound  the  Judge  did  n't  mean  all  that  for  my  use,  my  dear 
fellow.  But  the  worst  of  it  was,  that  next  day,  when  I  met 
her  with  the  Brigadier's  lady  on  the  poop,  the  young  beauty 
passed  me  with  as  scornful  an  air  as  possible ;  and  for  a  week 
or  so,  whenever  the  Judge  happened  to  ask  me  into  the 
round-house  cabins,  either  she  wasn't  there,  or  took  an 
opportunity  of  walking  out — the  most  I  got  was  a  bow  or  a 
"good-morning" ;  so  you  see  the  real  Simon  Pure  did  n't 
prosper  half  so  well  as  the  false  one!'  'Pooh!'  said  I, 
gloomily,  thinking  of  the  little  ground  I  had  made  myself, 
'all  contradiction — the  fact  is,  you  're  too  simple  for  women's 
ways,  Westwood.'  Westwood  looked  down  and  gave  a  queer 
smile — as  much  as  to  say,  I  suppose,  the  case  stood  just  the 
contrary;  and  I  must  own  it  struck  me  he  must  be  rather  a 
knowing  fellow  that  could  fathom  my  sister,  seeing  that,  for 
my  part,  I  understood  her  no  more  than  my  mother's  house- 
maid did,  with  her  high-flown  music  and  poetry,  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing. 


356  THE  GREEN  HAND 

"  'However,'  said  Westwood,  'I  contrived  by  degrees  to 
get  over  all  this,  and  for  the  last  week  or  two  we  were  as 
good  acquaintances  as  before — in  fact,  the  Judge  was  evi- 
dently bent  011  it.  And  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Ned,  as  charming 
a  girl,  in  her  way,  as  Violet  Hyde  I  can't  well  fancy — but  one 
more  hopeless  to  deal  with,  for  a  fellow  that  has  n't  got  hold 
of  her  heart,  I  believe  does  n't  breathe !  Why,  young  as  she 
is,  you  'd  feel  her  playing  you  round  her  pretty  forefinger  as  a 
woman  would,  looking  at  you  all  the  time  under  her  soft  eye- 
lids with  those  bright  eyes  of  hers,  as  if  you  could  fancy  her 
falling  in  love  in  a  moment  with  some  one  else,  but  never 
with  yourself !'  'By  Jove,  yes !'  said  I,  feeling  as  dismal  as  I 
dare  say  I  looked.  'Do  you  know,'  Westwood  went  on,  'her 
figure  and  walk  always  remind  me  of  a  Hindoo  girl's,  all  over 
English  as  her  face  and  hair  are,  with  a  touch  of  the  tropical, 
you  can't  say  where,  about  it — owing  to  her  being  born  in 
India,  as  I  believe  she  was ;  and  altogether,  Ned,  I  'm  glad 
to —  Here  Westwood  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  I 

poured  myself  out  another  glass  of  grog  in  pure  despair. 

"  'The  truth  is,'  said  I,  'I  wish  I  had  never  seen  that  con- 
founded 'Seringapatam' !  Did  n't  she  say  any — did  n't  you — 
in  fact,  Tom,  what  do  you  think  of  the  matter,  plump  and 
plain,  stem  and  stern  ?'  said  I  manfully.  'Why,'  said  Tom,  in 
a  thoughtful  way,  'not  to  set  you  at  all  wrong  on  either  side, 
the  thing  that  strikes  me  is,  I  don't  think  she  ever  once  men- 
tioned you,  Ned,  except  in  passing.  But  to  my  mind,  in  thy 
circumstances,  that 's  not  so  much  against  you.  The  young 
lady  can  say  little  when  she  pleases,  I  assure  you;  for  only 
last  night,  in  that  fine  moonlight  we  happened  to  touch  on 
that  affair  in  the  river — you  know?'  'Yes,'  I  said,  for  it 
was  n't  easy  to  forget.  'Now  I  always  thought  that  night  a 
turning-point  with  you,'  Westwood  said;  'and  it  was  the  last 
night  you  were  aboard ;  so  I  spoke  of  you  a  good  deal,  and 
never  a  word  did  Miss  Violet  utter,  save  "Yes"  and  "No," 
while  her  face  being  in  the  shadow,  1  could  n't  see  it.  Oh,  by 
the  bye,  though,'  continued  he,  'she  did  say  one  thing!' 

"  'For  heaven's  sake,  what  was  it  ?'  I  broke  out  eagerly. 
'Well,  then,  Ned,'  answered  he,  leaning  back  on  the  two  back 
legs  of  his  chair,  and  eying  me  with  a  comical  air,  which 
surprised  me  a  little,  'do  you  consider  yourself  good  looking  'f 
I  started  up.  'What  do  you  mean  by  that,  Tom  ?'  said  I ;  but 
next  moment  I  sat  down  again  with  a  sulky  'No,  I  '"11  be 
hanged  if  I  do !  so —  -'  'No  more  does  your  lady-love, 
then,'  said  Westwood,  'for  she  ma'de  the  remark  very  coolly, 
and  even  without  my  asking  her — but  don't  be  down-hearted 


A  SEA  STORY  357 

at  that,  my  dear  Ned,  for  I  think  more  of  that  little  sentence, 
in  the  way  it  was  said,  than  of  all  she  did  not  say!'  'The 
greater  the  difference  between  us,  I  suppose,'  said  i,  savagely. 
'Why,'  replied  Tom,  '  't  is  my  conviction  you.  never  hear  a 
woman  say  the  man  she  likes  is  handsome — and  from  a 
perverse  young  gipsy  like —  'Well,  by  Jove!  Westwood/ 
said  I,  losing  my  temper  altogether,  and  giving  the  table  a 
slap  with  my  fist  that  sent  my  glass  crash  to  the  deck,  'you 
beat  everything!  I  suppose  if  she'd  called  me  a  fool  and  a 
blessed  lubber,  you  'd  turn  it  to  my  favor.  But  the  truth  is, 
I  don't  understand  your  niceties — I  want  something  broad  . 
and  above-board,  that  a  fellow  can  lay  hold  of — and  the  short 

and  the  long  of  it  is '     With  that  I  laid  my  face  on  my 

arms  down  in  the  spilt  grog  on  the  table,  and  fairly  groaned. 
My  head  reeled  till  1  scarce  knew  it  was  myself  that  was 
sitting  there,  as  all  of  a  sudden  one  thought  after  another 
crowded  on  me.  Somehow  I  seemed  for  a  single  moment 
to  be  out  and  out  in  the  open  sea,  the  different  faces  I  'd  seen 
along  the  ship's  bulwarks  rushing  past  me,  with  Jones's  face, 
and  the  look  of  the  Indiaman  in  the  sunset;  through  all 
sorts  of  weather,  too,  in  that  confounded  moment. 

"Then,  I  can't  say  why,  but  my  hair  crept  as  I  came  back 
to  the  thought  of  the  Indiaman  and  the  schooner  in  the  calm 
at  the  time,  and  I  almost  fancied  I  heard  a  whisper  at  my 
ear.  I  looked  up,  and  saw  Tom  Westwood  sitting  opposite 
me,  with  a  musing  air,  and  rather  melancholy.  The  sight  of 
my  wild  stare,  with  the  grog  I  suppose  trickling  down  my 
forehead,  and  dripping  off  my  nose,  appeared  to  startle  him, 
and  our  eyes  met  queerly  enough  for  half  a  minute — till  all  at 
once  the  notion  seemed  to  strike  both  of  us,  of  the  absurdity 
of  two  fellows  hobnobbing  and  lackadaisying  away  this 
fashion  in  a  hole  of  a  schooner's  cabin,  thousands  of  miles 
from  land;  and  I'm  blessed  if  we  didn't  both  burst  at  the 
same  moment  into  regular  roars  of  laughter — first  one  broad- 
side, then  'bout  ship,  as  it  were,  to  deliver  the  other,  gun 
after  gun.  By  George!  though,  I  felt  it  do  me  good,  as  if 
something  deadly  went  off  with  it.  'Hallo!'  sung  out  the 
planter,  blocking  up  the  moonlight  that  shone  misty-white 
down  the  steps  of  the  companion,  to  a  blue  glimmer  at  the 
foot  of  them;  'both  surviving  yet,  I  declare';  and  we  felt  the 
scent  of  his  cheroot  in  the  hot  calm  as  he  walked  aft 
again. 

"'Well,  Ned,'  said  Westwood,  still  laughing,  'there's  one 
thing  more  I  did  contrive  to  get  out,  and  it  is  certa-:nly 
broad  enough  to  lay  hold  of,  as  you  say.  Do  you  know,  from 


358  THE  GREEN  HAND 

some  hints  the  Judge  let  drop  in  course  of  the  passage, 
after  he  got  to  know  me,  I  have  a  rather  sharp  suspicion 
he  has  some  one  in  view  for  his  daughter  already!'  At 
this  I  gasped  once  more.  'Whether  she  knows  it  herself 
or  not,  I  'm  not  sure,'  added  Tom ;  'but,  very  naturally, 
the  gentleman  I  mean  was  often  enough  mentioned  in  Sir 
Charles's  cabins — for  who  do  you  imagine,  of  all  persons  in 
the  world,  it  is?' 

"I  made  no  trial  at  a  guess,  but  sat  eying  Westwood  in 
perfect  silence,  and  he  went  on — 'Who  but — don't  look  so 
fierce,  my  dear  fellow — just  this — this  said  nabob  of  an  uncle 
of  mine,  the  Bengal  Councillor!  Why, you've  no  conception,' 
said  Westwood,  'what  presents  of  pearl  necklaces,  fans,  cash- 
mere shawls,  and  China  ivory  work-boxes,  and  so  on,  the 
Councillor  must  have  sent  home  to  her  at  different  times,  for 
the  'Seringapatam'  to  bring  back  again.  I  did  n't  see  her  wear 
any  of  them ;  but  every  now  and  then  Sir  Charles  would  point 
to  something  that  lay  about,  telling  me  it  came  from  my 
uncle !  He  is  a  bachelor,  you  know,  not  so  old  as  Sir  Charles 
himself,  who  is  n't  so  old  as  he  looks,  and  they  seem  to  be 
sworn  friends !'  'Tuts,  man !'  said  I,  brightening  a  bit,  'can't 
you  see  he  wants  to  adopt  her?'  'So  I  should  have  imagined,' 
answered  Westwood;  'but  the  fact  is,  two  or  three  times,  as 
I  told  you,  Sir  Charles  Hyde  hinted  as  much  as  that  it  was  an 
idea  of  long  standing  between  himself  and  his  friend  the 

Councillor,  so '  'The  old  villain!'  I  roared.  'Begging  your 

pardon,  Westwood — but  I  must  say  you  are  the  pattern  of  a 
Job's  comforter,  and  no  mistake!'  'Well,'  answered  he,  'if 
you  had  heard  the  way  in  which  the  young  lady  mentioned 
my  uncle  to  me,  you  would  n't  be  much  afraid  of  your  rival, 
Ned.  Why,  she  said  she  thought  she  remembered  him  when 
she  was  a  little  girl,  bringing  her  Indian  sweetmeats  from  the 
bazaar  in  his  carriage — she  actually  supposed  he  must  be 
older  than  her  father,  when  the  Judge  set  her  right  eagerly 
enough — but,  you  must  know,  he  no  more  seems  able  to  say  a 
sharp  word  to  her,  than  Jacobs  yonder  would.  So  what  did 
she  say  next,  after  apparently  thinking  a  little,  but  that,  now 
she  recollected,  my  uncle  used  to  have  gray  hair  and  white 
whiskers,  like  Mr.  Kollock,  which  for  my  part  1  knew  no  more 
about  than  the  table,  when  her  father  broke  out  describing 
him  as  warmly  as  possible;  and  suddenly  Miss  Hyde  looked 
at  him  with  a  little  turn  of  her  pretty  lip,  and  a  twinkle  in 
her  eye,  that  set  the  old  gentleman  fiddling  about  his  coffee- 
cup,  and  stopped  him  in  a  moment  as  if  she  had  been  a  little 
witch !' 


A  SEA  STORY 


359 


"'What's  to  be  done,  Tom?'  I  faltered  out,  after  a  long 
stop.  'I  'm  sure  I  don't  know,  Ned,'  said  he  gravely ;  'let 's 
go  on  deck  at  any  rate,  for  it 's  too  hot  here  to  sleep.'  The 
moment  the  sight  of  the  calm  burst  upon  us,  however,  with 
the  two  vessels  together  in  the  midst  of  it,  in  the  hazy  sort  of 
moonlight,  the  same  notion  seemed  to  strike  both  of  us  in  a 
different  way.  'I  '11  tell  you  what,  Collins,'  said  Westwood, 
half  jokingly,  half  in  earnest,  'uncle  though  he  be,  if  you  can 
contrive  to  cut  out  the  Councillor  anyhow,  I  '11  forgive  you, 
for  one !'  'How,  though — how,  by  Jove !'  replied  I — 'if  they  go 
to  Bombay  in  the  Indiaman,  by  the  time  they  reach  Calcutta, 
I  shall  be  in  the.  Pacific !'  "T  is  a  difficult  case,'  said  West- 
wood,  'no  doubt.  And  even  suppose  you  had  the  opportunity, 
't  would  be  hard  to  manage  an  elopement  ashore  in  India, 
travelling  "dauk"  in  two  palanquins.  Seriously  speaking, 
Ned,  I  see  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait  till  you  come  lack  from 
the  Pacific.' 

"I  looked  hopelessly  round:  the  calm  and  heat  together 
gave  one  a  helpless  feeling  and  every  notion  of  an  active  sort 
appeared  desperate.  A  perfect  calm  it  was,  too:  there  was 
some  filmy  scum  of  a  haze  aloft,  that  served  to  spread  the 
moonlight  all  over,  shutting  out  the  shape  of  the  sky,  and 
softening  off  the  horizon ;  with  the  moon  standing  slant  up  in 
it,  like  a  brighter  spot,  and  a  few  stars  low  down  in  the  east. 
But  for  the  long  wide  tremble  of  the  water,  in  fact,  as  it 
glanced  up  with  a  blue  flicker,  you  'd  have  fancied  we  might- 
n't be  far  from  land;  while  the  big  Indiaman  lay  off  the 
schooner's  bow,  without  the  least  motion  one  could  see;  the 
moonshine  edging  round  her  spars  and  ropes  from  the  other 
side,  and  her  sails  hanging  shadowy  against  it,  except  below, 
under  her  brailed-up  courses,  where  the  masts,  the  thick  of 
the  rigging,  and  the  tops  of  her  deck-lumber,  glistened  as  if 
they  were  newly  wet.  Half  of  her  watch  were  on  the  bow- 
sprit, sending  out  a  'fished'  spritsail-yard,  the  same  we  had 
set  dangling  about  their  ears  that  afternoon,  and  we  could 
hear  them  speaking  plain  enough;  every  time  they  sang  out 
at  a  haul,  it  went  far  away  on  all  sides — ho-ho-ho-he-ho-ho-o 
— till  you  lost  it  in  the  dead  calm,  as  if  somebody  had  gone 
there.  Now  and  then  the  'Seringapatam'  made  a  slight  plunge 
by  the  head,  as  the  wide  soft  swell  floated  up  with  her;  and 
the  glossy  black  shadow,  that  seemingly  gave  her  hull  the 
height  of  a  tower,  came  wavering  in  quicksilver  circles  to  our 
very  cut-water,  while  the  lights  from  her  after-windows  went 
twisting  away  round  her  heavy  counter  to  the  moonshine, 
like  yellow  snakes;  the  schooner  all  the  time  lying  as  quiet 


360  THE  GREEN  HAND 

as  if  she  were  on  a  pond,  except  that  by  little  and  little  she 
kept  shifting  her  bearings  to  the  Indiaman,  and  things  were 
confoundedly  like  our  both  sticking  together  in  course  of 
the  morning,  if  the  calm  held.  I  went  forward  to  the  fore- 
castle and  desired  Jones  to  get  all  hands  down  into  the  boats, 
and  have  her  towed  off  to  safe  distance,  seeing  that  the  worst 
of  it  would  be  sure  to  fall  to  our  share. 

"This  was  doing,  and  we  drew  slowly  off  the  ship's  bow, 
where  her  men  coolly  knocked  off  working  to  watch  ours,  and 
pass  jokes  on  our  gang  of  Lascars,  as  they  handled  the  oars  in 
awkward  style;  in  fact,  by  the  way  the  Indiaman's  watch 
carried  on,  most  of  them  seemed  to  have  passed  the  grog-can 
pretty  freely,  being  Saturday  night,  which  we  could  hear  they 
were  still  keeping  up  below  in  the  forecastle,  when  our  quar- 
ter came  abreast  of  her  larboard  bow.  'Hurrah !'  said  one, 
waving  his  tarpaulin ;  and  'Pull,  you  beggars !'  roared  an- 
other; when  my  old  customer,  ugly  Harry,  all  at  once  leaned 
out  of  her  fore-chains,  and  sung  out  to  Jones,  who  was  next 
him  in  the  stern-sheets  of  our  gig :  'I  say,  mate,  so  ye  're 
clearing  off,  are  ye?  The  better  for  that  'ere  nutshell  of  a 
schooner  o'  yours,  I  reckon !'  Jones  made  no  answer,  and  the 
fellow  added :  'Come  aboard  when  you  've  got  a  safe  berth, 
anyhow,  and  drink  "sweethearts  and  wives,"  will  ye?'  I  saw 
Jones  start,  and  turn  his  face  fiercely  into  the  shadow  of  the 
ship's  main-course  on  the  water,  rising  half-up  with  one  fist 
clinched,  but  he  said  nothing.  'Oh,  you  're  blasted  proud !' 
Foster  called  out :  'you  forgets  a  man,  blow  me !  D'  ye  think 
I  does  n't  know  a  fellow  I  got  glorious  with  myself,  in  old 
Van  Stinkoff's,  at  Cape  Town?  Sink  me,  mates,'  said  he 
as  loud  as  before,  turning  round  on  the  rail  of  the  bulwarks 
to  the  rest,  'I  picked  him  out  o'  the  street  scuppers,  under 
the  sign  of  the  Flying  Dutchman,  an'  I  'm  blowed  if  I  did  n't 
think  it  beneath  me  at  the  time !'  Here  the  end  of  our  main- 
boom  opened  us  in  sight  of  the  ugly  ruffian,  and  he  was  sink- 
ing down  inboard,  when  I  hailed  the  Indiaman's  quarter- 
deck, where  the  Scotch  mate  was  to  be  seen.  'Ay,  ay,  the 
schooner  ahoay !'  sung  out  he,  coming  to  the  gangway.  'Did 
you  hear  that  man's  impertinence,  sir,'  said  I  sternly,  'to  my 
officer  on  duty  there?  I  expect  you  to  see  him  punished,  sir.' 
The  Scotchman  said  he  'd  inquire  into  it ;  but  shortly  after  he 
came  back,  saying  he  'doubted'  he  could  n't  be  sure  of  the 
man;  and,  at  any  rate,  he  could  have  'meant  no  ill.'  The 
boats  had  towed  us  by  this  time  almost  out  of  fair  hearing, 
but  Harry  Foster  was  to  be  seen  coolly  eying  us  from  the 
midst  of  his  watchmates,  as  he  slung  a  couple  of  blocks  over 


A  SEA  STORY  361 

his  shoulder ;  when  he  turned  away  with  as  much  indifference 
as  if  we  had  been  a  Thames  collier,  growling  some  two  or 
three  words  or  other  that  brought  a  loud  laugh  from  the 
Indiaman's  forecastle  to  her  bowsprit,  where  the  men  were 
turning  lazily  to  their  business  again. 

"Being  now  clear  off  the  ship,  with  the  rake  6f  her  hull  in 
our  command  if  I  chose,  and  free  of  her  broadside  at  the 
same  time,  I  hailed  the  boats  to  leave  off  towing  and  come 
aboard.  As  Jones  came  on  deck,  I  saw  that  in  his  face  to 
make  me  think  he  took  the  thing  to  heart,  seeing  he  met  my 
first  look  with  his  lips  set  together  and  a  steady  gleam  of  his 
eyes.  The  truth  was,  I  never  in  my  life  came  across  a  man 
that  struck  me  so  much  with  the  notion  of  his  having  a  devil 
in  him,  seeking  to  get  the  better  of  what  was  good. 

"  'I  think  we  shall  do,  Mr.  Jones  ?'  I  said.  'Quite  safe, 
sir,'  said  he  quietly;  at  that  moment,  standing  as  we  did  out 
of  ear-shot,  with  the  setting  moon  in  sight  past  the  Indiaman, 
shining  in  a  rusty  yellow  glare  to  her  hanging  sails,  't  was 
strange  how  the  odds  of  our  different  stations  passed  off.  We 
were  foot  to  foot,  in  fact;  I  was  fully  aware,  if  never  before, 
what  an  enemy  Jones  would  make — he  had  great  daring  and 
knowingness  in  him,  and  all  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  hedge 
for  me  at  the  time,  seeing  I  had  such  a  ticklish  part  to  play 
with  the  Indiaman.  I  caught  myself,  on  the  instant,  measur- 
ing youth  and  activity,  not  to  say  regular  breeding  to  the  ser- 
vice, and  a  clear  conscience  besides,  against  him  and  his 
thews  and  sinews;  but  as  for  turning  and  twisting  with  the 
man  before  me,  I  saw  it  was  the  tack  likely  to  throw  him  to 
windward  of  me.  My  voice  changed,  and  I  lowered  it 
as  I  said :  'Mr.  Jones,  I  happened  to  sail  half  the  voyage  as  a 
passenger  in  that  ship,  and  I  've  no  common  reason  to  be 
anxious  about  her  getting  safe  into  port.  There  's  one  single 
being  in  her  at  this  moment  I'd  willingly  lose  my  life  to 
save  from  anything  like  what  one  could  fancy — ay,  so  help 
me  God,  suppose  I'd  no  chance  of  ever  setting  eyes  on  her 
again!'  Jones  never  stirred  a  feature,  but  looked  past  me 
into  the  gleam  of  the  moon  over  my  shoulder. 

"'Well,  Mr.  Jones,'  I  said,  'I'll  acknowledge  to  you 
frankly,  as  from  one  seaman  to  another,  the  question  is, 
are  you  for  me — or  not?'  'We  speak  as  man  with  man,  it  • 
seems,  Mr.  Collins!'  said  Jones,  quietly;  'then  I  am — for 
you!'  and  he  struck  his  hand  all  at  once  into  mine;  'here's 
a  hand  that  never  lied,  whatever  the  tongue  may  have  done 
— bad  or  good;  I  am  for  you,  sir,  and  no  more  of  it !  I 
knew  as  well  as  if  you  'd  told  me,  Mr.  Collins,  by  the  looks 


362  THE  GREEN  HAND 

of  the  passengers,  that  you  had  sailed  aboard  that  ship  in 

some  way  or  other — and  what 's  more,  sir,  1  saw '  here  he 

stopped,  looking  at  me  with  his  back  to  the  sinking  gleam 
of  light  beyond  the  ship's  hull,  from  the  moon  as  she  touched 
the  water,  and  I  saw  nothing  but  the  shape  of  his  head  under 
the  straw  hat,  with  a  shadow  blurring  his  face  together, 
though  I  felt  him  eying  me  out  of  it  all  the  time — 'what 
some  would  think  more  worth  while  than  if  you  were  a 
Spanish  plate-ship,'  he  went  on;  and  he  lowered  his  voice 
nearly  to  a  whisper  as  he  added,  'I  tell  you  what,  Mr.  Col- 
lins, 't  is  my  conviction  that,  if  you  chose,  you  might  do 
what  you  liked  in  the  end  with  that  Indiaman  and  all 
aboard  her!'  I  stepped  back  with  a  shiver  through  me,  as 
the  sudden  setting  of  the  moon  blended  everything  black  in. 
with  Jones's  shoulders,  leaving  his  head  instead  of  her 
against  a  glimmer  of  light,  till  for  a  moment  it  seemed 
peering  at  me  off  the  horizon  with  the  whole  lump  of  shadow 
betwixt  the  two  craft  for  a  body;  and  I  must  say  I  thought 
of  old  stories  about  the  Tempter  in  human  form.  'Devil!' 
said  I,  hoarsely,  while  the  last  gleam  to  westward  went  out, 
and  it  got  so  dark  I  could  have  fancied  Jones  had  vanished 
from  the  bulwarks  without  stirring  a  foot;  in  fact,  on  my 
moving  to  the  place  I  touched  the  cool  planks  with  my 
hand — he  was  actually  gone!  Nothing  was  visible  beyond 
our  own  decks,  save  a  slight  glimmer  such  as  one  would 
make  in  sculling  with  a  single  oar;  and  I  saw  at  once  he 
had  taken  the  small  boat  alongside  to  go  aboard  the  India- 
man!  All  the  rest  was  that  thick,  heavy  darkness  only  to 
be  found  in  a  calm  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  towards  morning; 
you  may  not  only  say  you  see  it,  but  could  stir  it,  as  it 
were,  with  a  stick. 

"A  horrid  notion  of  Jones's  purpose  crept  through  my 
mind  at  first;  but  on  second  thoughts  I  easily  saw  this 
was  n't  the  occasion  for  him  to  choose,  if  he  had  really 
meant  ill,  and  accordingly  there  was  more  the  reason  to 
trust  him.  Indeed,  as  I  stood  listening  and  watching,  after 
Westwood  and  the  planter  went  below,  the  Indiaman's  bin- 
nacle lamp  seemed  to  go  slowly  out,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  sound  of  her  watch  speaking  on  the  forecastle  appar- 
ently got  distincter,  till  I  could  hear  them  clear  of  the 
ship's  hull  and  rigging,  like  low  voices  muttering  in  the  air 
betwixt  her  and  us.  'T  was  only  her  having  sheered  grad- 
ually bow-on  to  the  schooner  again,  however,  as  a  calm  near 
the  equator  has  always  something  like  a  pulse  in  it — but  it 
struck  me  there  were  men  out  on  her  jib-boom,  which  being 


A  SEA  STORY  363 

of  course  the  very  privates!  part  of  any  in  a  ship  for  talk 
—why,  to  find  more  than  one  going  out  there,  of  a  dark 
night,  and  with  no  work  to  do,  never  looks  otherwise  than 
suspicious.  Nothing  of  this  kind  surprised  me  at  present 
in  the  'Seringapatam,'  with  the  opinion  1  had  of  her,  but 
the  curious  thing  was,  that  the  fellows  must  have  sup- 
posed it  the  farthest  point  they  could  get  out  of  sight  of  us, 
as  well  as  from  their  own  decks,  she  having  had  her  beam  to 
the  schooner  when  the  moon  set. 

"The  desperate  feelings  that  steal  upon  a  man  in  such  a 
case,  and  the  fearful  notions  that  breed  in  his  head,  with 
the  quickness  of  his  senses  and  the  way  he  holds  on  by  a 
single  rope,  you  can  scarcely  conceive,  though  if  a  cry  had 
come  from  the  Indiaman  at  that  moment  I  dare  say  I 
should  have  sprung  in  head  foremost  to  get  to  her,  when 
all  at  once,  from  up  in  the  air  again,  I  thought  I  heard 
the  smart  click  of  a  flint  and  steel;  at  any  rate,  I  saw 
the  sparks  showering  from  it  in  the  midst  of  the  black 
space  before  me — even  the  pair  of  fists  as  they  knocked  to- 
gether, then  a  mouth  blowing  the  match,  till  there  was  a 
light  in  a  lantern  between  four  heads  leaning  towards  each 
other  over  the  spar.  Queer  enough  it  would  have  been  to 
see,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  but  you  '11  readily  fancy 
what  a  thing  it  looked  all  of  a  sudden,  right  out  in  the 
midst  of  the  pitch-black  night,  one  did  n't  know  how  or 
where — in  fact,  two  of  them  faced  each  other  in  the  stream 
of  light  from  one  side  of  the  lantern,  like  the  two  edges 
of  a  rent  in  the  dark,  and  another  was  like  a  sprawling  blot 
in  the  center — you  just  saw  they  were  faces  and  heads,  with 
a  foot  or  two  of  the  thick  round  boom  slanting  up  betwixt 
them;  but  as  for  their  bodies,  they  were  all  of  a  piece  with 
the  perfect  blackness  beyond.  I  could  see  one  of  them  hold 
up  the  lantern  and  pass  it  round  the  three  others'  faces, 
bringing  out  their  chins  and  noses,  as  if  to  be  sure  who 
they  were — a  piece  of  caution  which  served  almost  equally 
well  for  me,  for  I  remembered  each  of  them  by  headmark 
amongst  the  crew,  only  I  did  n't  see  the  said  fellow  him- 
self, even  when  he  drew  out  some  paper  or  other  in  one 
hand,  seemingly  unfolded  it  with  the  help  of  his  teeth, 
and  spread  it  over  the  jib-boom  under  the  lantern,  where- 
upon the  whole  four  of  the  heads  drew  close  together  in 
a  black  lump  round  the  light,  peering  down  upon  the  paper, 
and  muttering  away  as  much  at  their  ease,  no  doubt,  as  if 
they'd  been  in  a  tap-room.  All  I  wished  for  was  a  good 
rifle-barrel  in  my  hand  at  the  time,  to  have  knocked  the 


364  THE  GREEN  HAND 

light  out  from  the  midst  of  them,  and  sent  the  bullet  by 
accident  through  the  tarpaulin  hat  behind  it — especially 
when  a  glaring  red  flipper  was  shoved  out  on  the  white 
paper,  and  the  thumb  planted  steadily  on  a  particular  spot. 
All  at  once,  however,  the  light  was  put  out  in  the  lantern, 
and  I  heard  them  going  in-board,  as  the  noise  of  the  morn- 
ing watch  being  called,  at  four  o'clock,  got  up  round  the 
fore-hatchway. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

"!N  about  half  an  hour  the  faint  glimmer  of  Jones's  oar  in, 
the  water  showed  how  hard  it  was  to  find  the  schooner 
again;  however,  he  managed  to  get  aboard  at  last,  by  which 
time  I  was  walking  carelessly  past  the  binnacle  in  the  dark, 
and  as  soon  as  he  sought  me  out  and  began  to  speak,  I 
saw  it  was  all  right.  Mr.  Snelling  came  on  deck  to  his 
watch,  blowing  up  the  men  for  letting  out  the  only  light 
aboard,  as  he  did  n't  know  fore-and-aft  from  'thwart-ships, 
nor  north  from  south.  The  cabin  lamp  under  the  skylight 
had  gone  out,  too,  for  want  of  oil,  without  being  noticed 
as  long  as  the  moon  shone,  and  not  even  the  planter's  cheroot 
was  to  be  seen.  From  the  snatches  of  their  conversation 
he  had  time  to  gather,  I  agreed  with  Jones  that,  whatever 
the  four  fellows  on  the  jib-boom  might  have  intended  be- 
forehand, their  present  cue  was  n't  at  all  to  try  seizing  the 
ship;  in  fact,  the  schooner's  sudden  appearance  in  this  lati- 
tude, with  what  they  knew  of  her  before,  had  naturally 
enough  brought  out  a  number  of  the  crew  in  different  col- 
ors to  what  they  'd  stick  to  after  getting  a  fright  and  find- 
ing their  mistake — though  by  this  time  1  had  no  doubt  in 
my  own  mind  that  the  villain  who  bent  on  his  silk  necker- 
chief to  the  signal  halyards  in  that  hurry  the  afternoon 
before  actually  meant  it  for  the  black  flag,  while  the  ab- 
surdity of  an  Indiaman  striking  at  all  to  a  cruiser  that 
wanted  her  just  to  heave-to,  was  a  sign  how  most  of  the 
crew's  minds  went,  as  long  as  they  fancied  us  pirates.  How- 
ever, Jones  had  seen  sufficient  of  the  lantern  affair  on  the 
boom  to  explain  it  to  my  great  relief;  the  ringleader  of 
1hem,  no  other  I  was  sure  than  ugly  Harry  himself,  seemed 
to  scrub  trousers  ordinarilv  for  one  of  the  quarter-deck 
officers,  and  had  got  hold  of  an  old  chart  in  his  berth  that 


A  SEA  STORY  365 

same  evening,  which  the  four  had  come  out  there  to  get 
a  private  overhaul  of.  All  Jones  could  get  room  to  sec 
was  that  it  was  a  chart  of  some  islands,  with  a  particular 
mark  at  one  of  them,  on  which  the  fellow  with  the  lantern 
put  his  thumb,  when  another  asked  if  there  were  n't  any 
trees  on  it.  'Trees,  ay,  trees  enough  to  hang  all  the  blasted 
lubbers  afloat !'  said  the  first,  as  Jones  listened.  '1  'd  as 
soon  think  of  sailing  in  a  craft  without  spars  as  aboard 
a  dazart  ileyand  without  trees!'  One  was  tired  of  the  In- 
diaman,  another  sick  of  the  world,  and  a  third,  with  Jack 
down  on  the  bowsprit,  wanted  to  chase  buffaloes  and  shoot 
birds.  As  for  the  rest,  the  head  of  the  gang  assured  his 
mates  there  were  plenty  of  other  islands  not  far  off,  and 
natives  in  them;  whereupon  the  light  was  put  out,  and, 
in  short,  they  made  it  up  amongst  them  to  take  one  of  the 
ship's  boats  quietly  some  night  as  soon  as  she  got  in  the 
latitude  of  the  Maldives,  and  steer  for  this  said  island ;  al- 
though, in  case  of  their  being  dogged  about  by  the  schooner, 
of  which  the  chief  scoundrel  seemed,  by  Jones's  account,  to 
have  a  wholesome  fear,  it  would  n't  be  so  easy  a  matter. 
Indeed,  the  last  words  he  was  heard  to  say,  as  they  crept 
inward  down  the  boom,  were  to  the  effect  that  he  thought 
there  were  some  aboard  as  anxious  to  drop  the  cruiser  as 
they  were.  '  'Faith,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  glad  to  find  this 
was  what  they  wanted,  'if  that 's  all,  I  shan't  stand  in  their 
way — so  as  soon  as  the  breeze  springs  up,  we  'd  better  clear 
off  altogether.  The  smoothest  way  is  to  let  them  take 
themselves  quietly  off,  and  I  've  no  fear  of  the  ship — only, 
before  fairly  shaping  our  own  course  for  Bengal,  we  must 
manage  to  have  another  sight  of  her  under  full  sail  for 
Bombay !' 

"Neither  of  us  thought  of  turning  in,  for  by  the  next 
half-hour,  in  fact,  the  Indiaman's  hull  and  canvas  began 
to  blacken  out  of  the  gloom  on  one  side — the  blue  of  the 
water  spread  round  till  it  glittered  against  the  ring  of  light 
kindling  and  kindling  on  the  horizon,  till  it  rose  seemingly 
in  a  perfect  fire  at  one  spot  in  the  rim  of  it,  blazing  up 
toward  the  cool  blue  aloft;  then  the  sun  was  out.  As  long 
as  we  had  to  stick  to  your  niceties  and  fine  manners,  in  fact, 
I  felt  as  much  afraid  of  meeting  Violet  herself  as  a  country 
booby  would— I'll  be  hanged  if  I  wasn't  in  doubt  of  her 
cutting  me  dead,  suppose  I  met  her,  and  I  should  n't  have 
had  a  word  to  say — whereas,  with  a  spice  of  the  rough  work 
I  thought  of  all  night,  or  even  a  chance  of  something  des- 
perate behind,  why,  a  fellow  needn't  to  mind  much  how 


366  THE  GREEN  HAND 

he  went  about  it — seeing  that  in  the  midst  of  a  hubbub  the 
words  come  into  your  mouth  of  themselves,  and  you  're 
not  expected  to  stand  upon  ceremony. 

"The  Scotch  mate,  being  now  first  officer,  had  the  side- 
ropes  handed  us  civilly  enough,  having  just  seen  the  decks 
washed  down  in  his  own  thorough  manner,  carronades,  ropes, 
and  all ;  but  as  the  captain  was  n't  turned  out  yet,  I  went 
up  the  poop,  where  a  couple  of  boys  were  still  swabbing 
up  the  wet.  The  moment  I  reached  it,  the  sight  of  the 
only  two  passengers  that  were  out  so  early,  rather  took  me 
aback,  one  of  them  being  the  last  I  cared  to  meet — namely, 
the  Irish  Brigadier'^  lady,  who  was  walking  the  deck  in 
pattens,  the  boys  evidently  keeping  clear  of  her  with  their 
swabs;  and  the  stout,  red-faced  Brigadier  himself,  buttoned 
up  to  the  throat,  while  he  stalked  dismally  fore-and-aft 
with  her  on  his  arm.  At  the  first  glimpse  of  me,  General 
Brady  stopped  short  and  stared — I  dare  say  he  was  doubt- 
ful whether  to  call  me  out  or  not.  'Glad  to  say  you  again, 
sir !'  said  he.  'Well,  now,'  said  his  lady,  'you  're  the  very 
man  I  wanted  to  see!:  I  still  looked  at  her,  unable  to  say 
the  like  of  herself,  but  terrified  to  speak  a  wrong  word,  with 
the  knowledge  of  her  confounded  temper:  the  Brigadier  had 
planted  himself  betwixt  me  and  the  poop-stairs,  and  never 
having  fairly  come  across  her  since  the  affair  about  her 
dog  and  the  shark,  why,  absurd  as  it  was,  1  did  n't  know 
what  the  woman  might  make  of  my  connection  with  the 
same  craft  that  carried  her  off  so  soon  after. 

"  'Yes,  indeed,  and  't  was  foolish  of  me  not  to  see  it  in 
ye  at  first!'  she  went  on,  shaking  her  parasol  at  me  in  a 
knowing  way,  end  eying  the  schooner  again.  'However,  / 
heard  of  you!'  said  she,  with  another  look  that  set  me  all 
alive,  'and  a  mighty  bold  sort  of  admirer  you  are!'  '.Faith, 
sir,'  said  the  Brigadier,  'if  I  'd  commanded  the  batthery  down 
there  last  night,  I  'd  have  waited  till  ye  got  nearer,  and 
blown  you  out  of  the  wather.'  '  'T  is  only  a  lieutenant  you 
are?'  said  his  lady,  speaking  without  scruple  in  the  midst 
of  his  words,  and  frowning  him  quiet.  'Nothing  more, 
ma'am,'  I  said.  'Well,  now,  Mister  Lieutenant,'  said  the 
lady  suddenly,  'what  d'ye  mean  to  do?  You  didn't  find 
us  out  here,  I  suppose,  and  actually  take  these  cowardly 
ship-people  of  ours  by  sa?/ge,  like  a  bold  fellow,  for  nothing?' 
After  a  few  words  more,  Mrs.  Brady  all  of  a  sudden  vanished 
down  the  little  quarter-gallery  stair  near  the  ship's  taffrail; 
though  I  had  scarce  missed  her  ere  she  appeared  again, 
making  me  a  signal.  'Hush,  now!'  said  she  in  a  whisper^ 


A  SEA  STORY  367 

cut  of  the  stairway,  'and  step  after  me  like  a  cat  amongst 
broken  b/tottles,  for  he  's  shaving  yonder  just  now  on  the  op- 
posite side— I  saw  his  kitmagc.r  taking  in  the  hot  water.' 
Islext  moment  I  had  followed  her  into  the  small  stateroom 
in  the  larboard  quarter,  where  she  opened  an  inner  door, 
and  left  me.  By  Jove!  I  could  have  hugged  that  Irish- 
woman on  the  spot,  vixen  as  she  was — no  matter  though  the 
very  ship  might  be  out  of  sight  in  a  few  hours,  and  I  never 
set  eyes  on  her  again;  I  thought  no  more  of  it  at  the 
moment  than  I  did  of  her  skipper  waiting  for  me — every- 
thing was  lost  in  the  notion  of  seeing  Violet  Hyde's  face 
come  out  of  that  door.  All  the  time  there  was  a  whis- 
pering, a  rustling,  and  a  confusion  in  the  berth,  as  if  she 
were  taken  by  surprise,  naturally  enough — then  I  caught  a 
word  or  two  of  the  young  lady's  own,  that  made  me  think 
it  was  all  up. 

"The  door-handle  turned,  and  the  door  half  opened,  then 
it  shut  to  again,  and  I  heard  Mrs.  Brady's  voice  in  a 
coaxing  sort  of  strain,  till  at  last  she  opened  the  door  wide 
and  said:  'Then  you  won't,  my  dear?  So  Mister  Lieu- 
tenant what  's-his-name,'  added  she,  'you  may  be  off  to  your 
vessel,  and —  Suddenly  I  saw  Violet's  figure  shrinking 
back,  as  it  were,  behind  the  Brigadier's  lady,  into  the  berth ; 
but  all  at  once  she  walked  straight  out  to  the  stateroom, 
half  frowning  and  half  laughing,  with  an  angry  kind  of 
blush  all  over  her  face.  Her  hair  was  only  looped  up  on 
the  side,  and  braided  on  the  other,  as  if  it  weren't  rightly 
ship-shape  yet  for  the  day;  while  as  for  her  dress,  I  re- 
member nothing  except  its  being  some  brown  cloak  or 
other  wrapped  so  close  about  her  that  one  couldn't  even 
see  her  hands,  like  the  picture  of  a  nun.  'Mrs.  Brady  seems 
so  astonished  to  see  you  here  again,  Mr.  Collins/  said  she, 
rather  sharply,  as  I  thought,  'that  she  cannot  rest  without 
all  the  passengers  meeting  you,  I  suppose,  before  you  go?' 
With  that  she  looked  back,  but  Mrs.  Brady  had  walked  out, 
though  I  heard  the  young  lady's  waiting-girl  moving  about 
inside  the  berth  yet.  "T  was  all  an  accident,  my  happen- 
ing to  come  aboard  just  now,  Miss  Hyde/  said  I,  anxiously, 
'or,  indeed,  my  having  orders  to  speak  the  Indiaman  at  all ! 
'Ah!'  she  answered — 'and  it  was  so  strange  of  Mrs.  Brady 
to — to  persist!'  The  lovely  girl  had  scarce  condescended  to 
look  at  me  yet,  but  here  she  glanced  past  me  through  the 
quarter-gallery  window  at  the  schooner,  where  there  was 
nothing  betwixt  her  and  the  gay  little  stateroom  save  the 
blue  heaving  water  and  the  light— then  her  eye  seemed  to 


368  THE  GREEN  HAND 

pass  from  the  epaulet  on  my  shoulder  to  the  other  that  had 
none,  till  it  lighted  for  the  first  time  on  my  face,  with  a 
smile. 

"  'How  beautiful  your  schooner  looks  just  now,  Mr.  Col- 
lins !'  said  she,  turning  hastily  again ;  'it  is  the — the  same  that 
— that  we  saw  before?'  Now  there  was  something  in  those 
blue  eyes  of  hers,  with  the  dark  lashes  over  them  and  un- 
der them,  that  made  me  lose  sight  at  the  moment  of  every- 
thing in  the  way  -of  my  success,  fear  and  all — a  sort  of 
a  flying  glance  it  was,  that  I  could  n't  help  turning  to  my 
favor.  'For  God's  sake,  Miss  Hyde,'  said  I,  'let  me  have 
something  one  way  or  other  to  know  my  fate  by — it 's  no 
use  telling  my  mind  after  all  that's  come  and  gone;  but 
as  I  may  n't  see  you  again — and  the  breeze  will  be  up  di- 
rectly— why '  Violet  stood  all  the  while  gazing  down  on 

the  stateroom  carpet,  making  no  answer:  there  was  a  dead 
stop,  and  I  heard  the  first  ripple  of  the  breeze  work  against 
the  ship's  rudder  below — by  Jove!  I  could  have  hanged 
myself  at  that  moment — when  I  saw  her  shoulder  tremble 
as  she  looked  down,  her  soft  eyelids  just  lifted  till  I  caught 
the  blue  of  her  eye,  and  the  smile  came  over  her  lip.  How 
1  got  hold  of  her  hand^-for  that  confounded  cloak,  or 
whatever  it  was,  .1  really  don't  know;  but  so  it  was,  and 
out  I  came  with  the  words  'Violet — I  love  you  to  the  last 
drop  of  my  blood,  that 's  all !'  I  said ;  'and  I  only  wish  i 
had  the  chance  of  showing  it!'  Violet  Hyde  drew  her  hand 
gently  out  of  mine,  and  looked  me  straight  in  the  face 
for  a  moment  with  a  merry  sort  of  a  quizzical  air,  as  if 
I  meant  some  other  adventure — and  'Oh,  no !  I  hope  not !' 
added  she,  with  a  shudder,  and  then  a  blush,  no  doubt 
thinking  of  the  African  river. 

"  'But  Violet,  "V  iolet !'  said  I  eagerly,  as  she  made  a 
move  toward  the  nearest  door,  'won't  you  say,  then — some- 
thing, for  heaven's  sake,  to  keep  one  in  hopef  'Why,  what 
would  you  have,  sir  ?'  said  she  quickly,  still  turning  away — 
but  bless  me!  I  don't  exactly  remember  what  followed,  in 
the  desperation  I  felt — nor  how  near  she  was  to  me  when 
I  heard  her  begging  me  to  'go,  go,  if  I  really  loved  her !' 
'Dearest  girl!'  I  said,  'I  shall  be  far  enough  off  in  a  short 
time!'  'Do  you  actually  sail  so  soon,  then?'  said  Violet, 
in  a  low  voice.  'Why,  they  're  bracing  round  the  ship's 
yards  already,  I  hear,'  answered  I;  'but  indeed  1  think  the 
schooner  might  keep  near  for  a  few  days,  to —  'No — no!' 
said  she  anxiously,  'go  altogether,  else  my  father  will  be  still 
more  set  against — against Perhaps,'  she  added,  'we  may 


A  SEA  STORY  369 

see  you  in  Calcutta,  when — you  are' — and  her  eye  glanced 
from  one  shoulder  of  my  uniform  to  the  other.  'When 
I've  got  my  epaulet  shifted  to  the  right  shoulder?'*  asked 
I,  eagerly;  'then  may  I  see  you?'  'See — yes,'  was  the  whis- 
per I  caught — and  'Dearest,  dearest  Violet,'  said  1,  almost 
going  down  on  the  deck  before  her,  'suppose  I  managed  to 

ship  them  on  both,  in  this  confounded  peace,  will  you ' 

'Hush!'  said  Violet,  listening,  and  all  in  a  flutter,  'indeed 
you  must  go,  else  7  must !'  Tor  God's  sake,  Violet,'  I  went 
on,  keeping  hold  of  her  hand  as  she  tried  to  get  away, 
'will  you  wait  a  year  or  two  and  give  me  the  chance  of  a 
war  in  China — or  up  the  Mediterranean — or —  But  here 
the  wild  notions  I  had  for  a  moment  left  me. 

"Somehow  or  other  at  that  instant  a  terrible  glimpse,  as 
it  were,  of  Bonaparte  standing  up  on  the  crag  in  St. 
Helena  flashed  across  me;  and  as  the  folly  of  the  thing,  let 
alone  the  impudence  of  it,  struck  me,  I  nigh-hand  groaned, 
while  Violet  Hyde's  fingers  slipped  out  of  mine.  Just  then 
she  turned  full  round  with  a  soft  look  of  her  eyes,  and  was 
going  to  say  something,  as  I  thought;  but  the  handle  of  the 
aftermost  door  turned,  and  the  Brigadier's  lady  hastened  in. 
As  I  glanced  round,  something  or  other  dropped  lightly  into 
the  palm  of  my  hand,  and  next  moment  Violet  was  gone. 
'T  was  only  a  little  knot  of  white  ribbon  I  'd  got,  though  the 
scent  and  the  warm  touch  of  it  together  were  enough  to 
startle  one — I  almost  thought  she  'd  changed  into  it ;  and 
to  this  day,  ma'am,  I  '11  be  hanged  if  I  know  what  that  was 
ihe  scent  of — unless  it  was  sandal  wood! 

"  'Quick !'  said  Mrs.  Brady,  in  a  hurry,  'what  d'  ye  stand 
staring  there  for,  man  alive?  Sir  Charles  is  upstairs,  and 
you  can't  go  this  way;  so  through  the  cabins  with  ye,  lieu- 
tenant, and  out  on  the  quarther-deck !'  Before  I  well 
knew  what  I  was  doing,  accordingly,  we  were  in  the  Judge's 
main-cabin,  where  the  ship's  masts  and  the  men  gathering 
about  the  ropes  could  be  seen  through  the  round-house  doors 
as  they  stood  open.  'Mrs.  Brady,'  said  I,  suddenly  stepping 
back  to  her,  'you're  an  angel,  ma'am,  and —  'You  un- 
principled young  villain,  ye!'  said  she,  springing  aft  with 
her  fingers  spread,  and  beginning  to  raise  her  voice,  'what 
would  ye  do!  Brigadier! — D'ye  think  'tis  deaf  I  was  in 
the  stair  yonder,  you  promiscuous  young —  However,  I 
gave  her  one  bewildered  look,  and  heard  no  more  of  it, 
bolting  as  I  did  through  the  nearest  door  right  against 

*  At  that  period  the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  commander,  as  the  epaulet  on 
(he  left  shoulder,  of  a  lieutenant,  and  the  epaulet  on  both,  of  a  post-captain. 


370  THE  GREEN  HAND 

the  man  coming  to  the  wheel;  while  the  midshipman  was 
on  the  lookout  for  me  everywhere  to  say  that  the  captain 
of  the  Indiaman  was  waiting  for  me  below  in  his  cabin. 

"Indeed,  she  was  moving  slowly  through  the  water  already, 
as  the  light  cat's-paws  ruffled  it  here  and  there,  and  drew 
aloft  into  her  royals;  our  own  little  craft  beginning  to 
slip  gently  along  to  leeward  of  the  ship,  with  the  dark 
Lascars'  faces  under  the  foot  of  her  white  fore-topmast- 
staysail,  giving  her  a  doubtful  enough  air,  I  must  own.  I 
had  nothing  particular  to  say  to  Finch,  in  fact;  but,  captain 
as  he  was  of  the  Indiaman  for  the  time,  't  was  the  least  i 
could  do  to  see  him;  besides  that  somehow  or  other,  I 
had  a  sort  of  feeling  as  I  came  on  board  half  an  hour 
before,  I  could  n't  exactly  say  why,  that  made  one  anxious 
for  a  near  sight  of  him.  If  he  suspected  anything  wrong 
amongst  his  crew,  why  at  any  rate  he  would  have  an  op- 
portunity of  mentioning  it  ere  we  parted  company;  but, 
awkward  as  our  meeting  each  other  again  was,  of  course, 
and  both  being  on  such  different  footing  from  before,  while 
my  own  mind  was  naturally  full  of  what  had  just  happened, 
it  turned  out  much  as  might  be  expected.  Finch  was 
evidently  not  the  same  man  he  had  been  a  few  weeks 
before,  except  in  his  puppy  fine  gentleman  manners  and 
way  of  dress,  which  were  twice  as  high-flown;  with  his  hair 
curled,  a  white  handkerchief  hanging  half  out  of  his  breast- 
pocket, a  regular  East  India  uniform,  and  everything  show- 
ing the  tiptop  skipper.  The  thing  that  set  me  less  at  my 
ease  with  him  was,  that  I  was  sure,  by  one  glance  of  his 
eye,  he  had  a  pretty  fair  guess  of  where  I  had  been  last, 
and  saw  it  in  my  manner — which  made  me  the  more  careful, 
as  matters  stood,  to  give  no  signs  of  more  meddling  with 
the  Indiaman.  However,  I  threw  in  a  hint  or  two,  when 
Finch  out  and  told  me  quite  frankly,  there  had  been  a 
little  disorderly  conduct  on  board  after  they  left  the  Cape, 
but  he  had  thoroughly  put  it  down,  without  letting  the 
passengers  know  anything  about  it,  as  he  said:  only,  the 
very  day  before,  at  the  time  when  the  schooner  fired,  there 
were  a  few  of  the  men,  he  told  me,  that  seemed  inclined  to 
disobey  orders — fellows  he  wished  he  could  get  rid  of.  • 

"'Now,  Captain  Finch,'  said  I,  as  I  looked  over  my 
shoulder  at  them  from  the  capstan,  'will  you  point  out  the 
men  you  spoke  of,  sir,  that  showed  themselves  mutinous?' 
Finch  drew  back  at  this,  however,  and  hummed  and  hawed 
at  the  word.  'Yes,  mutinous'  repeated  I;  'there's  no  use 
mincing  the  matter,  I  suppose.  Just  be  so  good  as  let  me 


A  SEA  STORY  371 

see  the  fellows,  and  I  '11  rid  you  of  them  at  once !'  Finch's 
glance  followed  mine  as  it  lighted  on  Harry  1'oster's  shaggy 
head  watching  us  with  the  eye  of  a  buffalo,  past  a  knot  of 
slouching,  hulking,  foremastmen  of  his  own  kidney.  The 
moment  I  caught  sight  of  Jacobs'  broad,  hearty,  brown 
face,  standing  apart  a  bit  with  his  friends,  Tom,  Bill,  the 
red-haired  Irish  topman,  and  three  other  honest-like  man- 
o7-war's-men,  I  took  my  cue  for  the  meantime.  'My  lads,' 
said  I,  walking  quietly  forward,  'I  want  a  few  hands  for 
the  "Hebe"  frigate — you  know  her,  I  dare  say — and  that's 
enough ;  for  a  model  like  the  "Hebe"  does  n't  float  the  water 
— now,  I  can't  press  any  of  you!'  Here  a  general  laugh 
ran  along  both  rows,  and  I  heard  a  growling  chuckle  from 
ugly  Foster.  'But'  added  I,  laughing,  too,  'you  can  vol- 
unteer!' 

"There  was  a  dead  silence,  in  the  midst  of  which  Tom, 
the  fore-topman,  the  most  dashing  fellow  in  the  ship,  stepped 
aft  with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  then  Jacobs,  then  Bill,  and 
my  acquaintance  the  'Savage,'  then  the  three  others.  In, 
place  of  grumbling,  in  fact,  there  began  to  be  a  hurrah 
amongst  the  rest,  except  some  of  Foster's  chums;  a  few 
more  seemed  inclined  to  follow,  and  as  for  my  gentleman 
captain,  he  appeared  not  to  know  what  to  do.  'Now,  my 
man,'  said  I,  stepping  straight  up  to  ugly  Harry,  and  eying 
him  right  in  the  face  as  he  stood,  'you  're  a  fine  seaman- 
Ijke  fellow — true-blue,  I  'm  sure — I  've  taken  a  particular 
fancy  to  ye — won't  you  ship  for  the  "Hebe" — eh?'  Foster 
did  n't  know  where  to  look,  twisting  himself  round,  hitching 
up  his  trousers,  and  altogether  taken  fairly  aback;  every 
eye  was  on  him,  and  I  '11  be  hanged  if  I  don't  think  he 
turned  it  in  his  mind  to  agree.  'Come,  Foster,'  said  1, 
in  a  low  voice,  'I  know  you,  my  man;  but  if  you  ship  I'll 
look  over  the  whole!'  All  at  once  Captain  Finch  walked 
up  to  me,  saying,  'If  you  persist  in  taking  these  men,  sir, 
you'll  have  to  answer  for  it,  I  can  tell  you!'  'I  know  my 
own  meaning,  sir,'  said  I,  firmly ;  'I  am  in  the  regular  course, 
and  answer  for  it  I  will !  Say  the  word,  my  man,  and  ship  V 
said  I  again.  'Blowed  if  I  do!'  said  Harry,  turning  on 
his  heel  with  a  grim  scowl;  'none  o'  yer  frigates  for  me!' 
and  he  walked  off.  Jacobs  and  the  others  came  on  the 
gangway  with  their  bags,  however,  and  pitched  them  to  the 
men  in  the  boat,  without  anyone  offering  to  interfere  ;in,r 
deed,  Finch  had  seemingly  given  it  up  sooner  $a&  I  ex- 
pected. 

"'Now,  Captain  Finch,'  said  I,  before  stepping  over  the 


372  THE  GREEN  HAND 

side  after  Mr.  Snelling  and  the  men,  'I  'd  much  rather 
we  could  have  hit  upon  the  right  men ;  however,  the  more  need 
for  my  keeping  in  sight  of  you  to  windward,  as  1  shall  do 
at  least  till  we  steer  for  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  I  could  n't 
do  less,  you  see,'  added  I,  on  getting  no  answer,  'than 
make  myself  strong  enough  to  help  you  if  needful!'  '1 
shall  report  to  the  Admiral  at  Bombay,  sir!'  said  he,  fiercely. 
'You  may  do  that,  Captain  Finch,'  I  said,  'as  soon  as  possi- 
ble; but,  in  the  meantime,  you  can't  be  sure  of  what  may 
turn  up  of  a  dark  night,  and  a  couple  of  lights  at  your 
main-yardarm,  or  anywhere,  will  bring  the  schooner  down 
in  half  an  hour  or  so  if  there  's  a  breeze.  As  for  a  calm/ 
said  I,  turning  round — but  such  a  strange  white  look  had 
come  over  Finch's  face  as  he  glanced  after  me,  that,  think- 
ing he  was  beside  himself  with  rage,  I  went  down  the  side 
without  another  word.  'Take  you  own  way !'  I  fancied  i 
heard  him  mutter  betwixt  his  teeth;  but  next  moment  we 
were  pulling  off. 

"Well,  the  breeze  ere  this  time  was  steady,  though  light, 
and  we  drew  gradually  to  windward  of  the  Indiaman,  till  by 
the  afternoon  the  white  band  on  her  hull  was  just  awash 
with  the  water,  and  there  I  kept  her,  with  a  little  variety, 
pretty  near  the  whole  night,  and  most  of  the  following  day. 

"The  next  night  came  almost  as  dark  as  it  had  been 
that  night  of  the  calm;  but  the  breeze  freshened  again 
pretty  strong,  and  accordingly  I  kept  the  schooner  down 
to  get  nearer  the  ship,  which  we  had  seen  in  the  first  dog- 
watch dead  to  leeward.  I  was  rather  uneasy  for  awhile  at 
not  being  able  to  make  out  her  lights,  and  we  slipped  fast 
through  the  water,  when  all  at  once  both  Jones  and  West- 
\vood  called  out  from  forward  that  they  saw  them,  and  I 
walked  to  the  bows. 

"'All  right,'  said  I;  'but,  no,  by  heaven!  That's  the 
signal  I  named  to  the  captain!  Set  stun-sails,  Mr.  Jones, 
and  make  her  walk,  for  God's  sake!'  Two  lights  it  was, 
aloft  in  the  gloom,  right  to  leeward  as  before:  there 
was  something  wrong,  or  else  she  wanted  to  speak  us;  so 
away  we  flew  before  the  wind,  under  everything  that  could 
be  set.  I  looked  and  looked,  when  a  thought  struck  me; 
not  another  light  was  to  be  seen  below,  and  they  were  n't 
high  enough  for  the  heave  of  the  sea  for  even  a  ship's 
lower  mast. 

"'Yes,  by  George!'  said  I  hurriedly  to  Westwood  and 
Jones,  'that 's  a  trick!  The  fellow  means  to  give  us  the  slip. 
Clap  the  helm  down,  Mr.  Snelling,  and  haul  aft  the  sheets 


A  SEA  STORY  373 

there — luff,  luff!'  We  were  losing  our  weather-gage;  in 
fact,  the  Indiaman  must  actually  be  to  windward  of  us 
ere  then,  and  if  the  breeze  freshened  we  might  lose  them 
altogether.  The  thing  that  troubled  me  most  was,  that  1 
could  n't  believe  the  man  had  thought  of  such  a  plan  him- 
self; and  if  he  once  took  a  hint  from  any  of  the  scoun- 
drels I  knew  were  aboard,  why,  there  was  no  saying  what 
might  be  the  upshot  in  the  end.  Finch  was  a  common 
enough  character  at  bottom;  but  with  such  notions  as  1 
was  sure  were  working  in  his  head  about  Miss  Hyde,  one 
step  might  lead  him  on  to  another,  till  any  chance  occasion 
might  make  a  desperate  villain  of  him,  especially  if  he  sus- 
pected myself  of  aught  like  good  fortune  with  the  young 
lady.  It  was  n't  much  past  midnight,  the  air  was  won- 
derfully heavy  and  sweltering,  and  the  swell  going  down, 
when  we  heard  a  murmur  amongst  the  men  on  the  fore- 
castle, and  saw  a  red  fire-ball  pass  high  over .  to  nor'ard 
for  half  a  minute,  leaving  a  trail  in  the  dark  sky  beyond 
the  headsails. 

"A  queer,  ghastly  sort  of  ruddy  gray  streak  opened  out  in 
the  black  of  the  horizon,  where  some  of  them  thought  they 
made  out  the  ship ;  but  soon  after  we  could  hear  a  low  hollow 
kind  of  a  hum,  rushing  as  it  were  from  east  to  west,  till  it 
grew  almost  like  the  sound  of  waves  on  a  beach;  which 
made  us  begin  to  look  to  ourselves.  There  was  a  bright 
line  of  light  directly  in  the  opposite  quarter,  and  the  sea 
for  away  seemed  getting  on  fire,  with  a  noise  and  hubbub 
coming  along  below,  that  nobody  appeared  to  know^  the 
meaning  of;  while  aloft  it  was  as  still  as  a  church.  For  a 
moment  I  saw  the  'Seringapatam'  quite  plainly  several  miles 
off,  but  from  the  confusion,  I  never  could  say  whether  it 
was  north  or  east;  in  fact,  we  kept  watching  the  canvas, 
expecting  to  have  a  hurricane  into  it  next  minute.  Suddenly 
the  sea  came  gleam-gleaming  and  flickering  on,  as  it  were, 
with  a  washing  bubble  and  a  hissing  smother  of  foam, 
till  it  splashed  right  against  our  larboard  bulwarks,  heap- 
ing up  like  perfect  fire  upon  the  schooner's  side,  and 
running  past  both  stern  and  bows,  away  with  a  long  rolling 
flash  to  the  other  horizon.  All  was  pitch-dark  again  after 
that,  and  a  whisper  went  about  our  decks  and  round  the 
binnacle  lamp,  of  'The  ripples!— It's  the  ripples!'*  'Noth- 
ing more,  sir!'  said  Jones,  even  he  seeming  taken  by  sur- 
prise at  first.  Twice  again  we  had  it,  though  each  time 

*  The  "Ripples "—a  marine  phenomenon  peculiar,  apparently,  to  the  Indian 
Ocean. 


374  THE  GREEN  HAND 

fainter,  right  out  of  the  midst  of  the  gloom;  after  which  it 
was  as  calm  as  before.  'Thank  God!'  said  1,  breathing 
hard,  'we  '11  have  that  Indiaman  in  the  morning,  at  any 
rate!'  'Why,  sir,'  answered  Jones,  thoughtfully,  'after  this 
we  are  likely  to  have  the  south-west  monsoon  upon  us  ere 
long — 't  is  just  the  place  and  the  season  for  it.' 

"And  so  it  was.  Instead  of  sighting  the  'Seringapatam' 
at  daybreak,  I  had  a  strong  suspicion  she  had  gone  to  east- 
ward; but  of  course  the  faster  the  schooner  was,  why  if 
it  were  the  wrong  way  we  should  only  get  from  her  the 
farther,  and  miss  her  altogether,  without  ever  knowing  how 
matters  went,  even  if  she  got  quietly  into  port;  so,  being  the 
best  plan  I  could  think  of  for  the  meantime,  away  we 
drove  north-westward,  sweeping  the  horizon  with  the  glass 
every  morning.  We  had  run  so  far,  indeed,  without  suc- 
cess, that  I  was  sure  she  could  n't  be  ahead ;  when  one 
day  I  asked  Mr.  Jones  to  bring  me  up  the  chart  for 
those  parts,  as  we  took  the  latitude.  We  were  a  long  way 
to  westward  of  our  own  course  at  the  time,  and  Jones's 
finger  went  along  eastward  till  it  stopped  right  upon  the 
Maldive  islands,  while  he  looked  up  with  a  sudden  sharp 
glance.  'By  heaven,'  said  I,  'yes! — I  forgot  that  story  alto- 
gether— be  so  good  as  to  send  that  man  there,  Jacobs,  to  me. 
Jacobs,'  said  I,  'which  of  the  officers'  clothes  did  that  fellow 
Foster  use  to  scrub  lately,  in  the  Indiaman?'  Jacobs  gave 
his  hair  a  rub,  recollected  a  moment,  and  answered,  'Why, 
sir,  the  captain's  own.'  'Oh !'  I  said,  'well,  that  '11  do,  Jacobs' 
— and  Jacobs  walked  forward  again.  'Mr.  Jones,'  said  I, 
quickly,  'that  chart  belonged  to  the  captain ! — I  '11  have  a 
look  at  that  said  desert  island,  sir!'  We  found  something 
answering  to  it  on  the  chart;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
schooner  was  bowling  before  the  dregs  of  the  monsoon  to 
eastward. 

"'At  all  events,'  added  I,  'we'll  see  if  these  vagabonds 
mean  to  keep  their  word  and  turn  hermits — either  we  catch 
them  there,  Mr.  Jones,  or  else  we  must  find  that  Indiaman, 
though  she  were  in  sight  of  Colibah*  lighthouse!'  Jones's 
eye  lighted,  and  he  turned  his  nostrils  to  the  monsoon  as 
if  he  snuffed  it  in;  in  fact,  he  was  that  sort  of  man  that 
needed  somewhat  out  of  the  comm'ou  way  to  keep  him  right. 

*  Outside  the  harbor  of  Bombay. 


A  SEA  STORY  375 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

"  'No,  Westwood,'  said  I,  'it  can't  be  the  right  one — nor 
any  of  these,  indeed!'  And  on  looking  at  the  chart,  which 
was  one  not  meant  for  anything  but  navigation  in  open 
water,  with  the  channels  laid  down  clearly  enough,  but  evi- 
dently rather  offhand  as  to  the  islands,  Jones  himself  seemed 
to  get  uncertain  about  the  matter;  partly  owing  to  the 
short  glimpse  he  ?d  had  of  the  other  chart,  and  partly  to  its 
being,  as  he  thought,  an  old  one  made  for  a  purpose,  by  a 
hand  that  knew  tho  islands  well.  After  two  or  three  days' 
sail,  we  were  getting  into  the  thick  of  the  Maldives,  where 
the  reefs  and  sandbanks  stretching  out  on  every  side,  and 
beginning  to  lap  in  upon  each  other,  made  it  more  and  more 
dangerous  work;  but  at  any  rate  the  islands  we  saw  were 
either  very  small,  or  else  low  and  muddy-like,  with  a  few 
scrubby-looking  cocoas  upon  them,  like  bulrushes  growing  out 
of  a  marsh.  No  runaway  sailors  would  ever  think  of  taking 
up  their  quarters  hereabouts,  even  if  we  had  n't  caught  sight 
of  a  smoke  now  and  then,  and  once  of  some  native  craft 
with  a  couple  of  brown  mat-sails,  and  an  out-rigger,  that 
showed  the  clusters  hereaway  to  have  people  about  them. 
Besides,  there  was  no  pretext  any  Indiaman  could  have 
for  steering  near  enough  to  such  a  jungle  of  mud  and 
water,  to  give  a  boat  the  chance  of  making  towards  it 
with  any  certainty. 

"I  saw  at  once  that  the  spot  in  question  must  lie  tolerably 
for  the  course  of  a  ship  to  western  India,  otherwise  they 
wouldn't  have  appeared  so  sure  of  their  mark  as  Jones 
said  they  did.  All  this,  at  the  same  time,  kept  me  the 
more  bent  on  searching  the  matter  out  ere  I  did  aught  else, 
seeing  that  in  fact  the  Indiaman's  attempt  to  get  rid  of 
the  schooner  was  the  very  thing  likely  to  bring  her  on  this 
track ;  fancying,  as  she  would,  that  we  were  either  in  chase 
of  her  toward  Bombay,  or  off  on  our  own  course  again.  Now, 
on  the  one  hand,  nothing  could  fit  better  for  the  said  run- 
away scheme  of  Harry  Foster's;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
nothing  would  have  pleased  me  more,  and  greatly  eased 
my  mind,  too,  than  to  catch  him  and  his  chums  on  their 
spree  ashore.  The  worst  of  it  was,  that  I  began  to  have  my 
doubts  of  Jones  again.  He  was  the  only  man  that  could 
put  us  on  the  right  scent;  yet  he  seemed  either  to  have 


376  THE  GREEN   HAND 

lost  it,  or  to  have  something  creeping  on  his  mind  that 
made  him  unwilling  to  carry  it  out. 

"  'Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  as  the  schooner  was  hove  to,  and 
he  stood  musing  gloomily  by  the  binnacle,  with  a  glance 
now  and  then  in  at  the  compass,  and  out  at  the  chart 
again,  'if  you  're  at  a  loss  now,  sir,  just  say — and  I  shall 
try  my  own  hand  for  want  of  a  better!' 

"  'iNo,  Lieutenant  Collins !'  answered  he  suddenly,  in  a 
husky  voice — 'no,  sir,  that 's  not  it,  but — God  help  me !  no, 
there 's  no  use  standing  against  fate,  I  see.  Whatever  it 
costs  me,  Mr.  Collins,'  he  went  on,  firmly,  'I  'm  with  you 
to  the  end  of  it;  but — there  is  something  horrible  about  all 
this.!'  'How!  what  do  you  mean?'  said  I,  startled  by  the 
difference  in  his  manner,  and  the  quiver  of  his  lip.  'Oh,' 
said  he,  'as  for  the  present  matter,  there  may  be  nothing 
more  in  it  than  what  I  heard  on  the  ship's  boom  yonder. 
The  truth  is,  I  did  n't  know  at  first  but  this  cluster  here 
might  have  been  the  one — though  I  see  now  there  is  only  one 
island  in  the  whole  chain  that  can  answer  the  description, 
snd  that  is  not  here.'  With  that  he  pointed  to  another 
piece  of  the  chart,  showing  no  more  than  a  few  spots  upon 
1he  paper,  not  to  speak  of  shades  in  it  standing  for  reefs 
and  shoals,  towards  the  'Head'  of  the  Maldives;  one  spot 
lying  away  from  the  rest,  with  the  single  name  of  Minicoy 
for  them  all.  I  asked  him  hastily  enough  what  it  was 
called,  and  all  about  it,  for  the  whole  affair  made  me  more 
and  more  uneasy;  but  on  this  point  Jones  seamed  inclined 
lo  keep  close,  plainly  not  liking  the  topic,  except  that  I 
found  it  went  by  several  names,  one  of  which  I  had  heard 
before  myself — White-water  Island. 

"About  the  time  I  was  a  boy  in  a  merchantman's  fore- 
castle, 't  was  a  sort  of  floating  yarn  amongst  some  seamen, 
this  White-water  Island,  I  remembered;  but  1  never  met 
with  a  man  that  had  seen  it,  every  one  having  had  it 
from  a  shipmate  last  voyage,  though  a  terrible  place  it 
had  been,  by  all  accounts,  without  one's  knowing  exactly 
where  it  was.  One  craft  of  some  kind  had  gone  to  find 
out  a  treasure  that  was  buried  in  it,  and  she  never  was 
heard  of  more;  a  man  took  a  fancy  to  live  ashore  in  it, 
like  Robinson  Crusoe,  and  he  went  mad,  while  the  reason 
there  were  no  'natives'  was  owing  to  the  dreadful  nature 
of  it,  though  at  the  same  time  it  was  as  beautiful  as  a 
garden.  The  right  name,  however,  according  to  Jones,  was 
Incoo.  'There 's  no  good  in  blinding  one's  self  to  it,  Mr. 
Collins,'  he  went  on ;  'that 's  the  island  the  men  meant,  only 


A  SEA  STORY  377 

their  chart  set  me  wrong  owing  to  the  greater  size  of  it—- 
you had  better  beat  out  of  this  at  once,  and  keep  up  for 
the  Eight  Degrees  Channel  there.' 

"We  were  in  open  sea  again,  out  of  sight  of  land  from 
the  masthead,  steering  for  somewhere  about  north-north- 
east, with  a  very  light  breeze  from  nearly  the  monsoon  quar- 
ter, and  sometimes  a  flying  squall,  sometimes  no  more  than  a 
black  pour  of  rain,  that  left  it  hotter  than  before.  The 
clear  deep  blue  of  the  Indian  Ocean  got  to  a  sickly  heavy 
sort  of  dead  color  towards  noon,  like  the  bottoms  of  old 
bottles,  and  still  we  were  standing  on  without  signs  of 
land,  when,  almost  all  at  once,  I  noticed  the  water  in 
the  shadow  of  the  schooner  had  a  brown,  coffee-like  tint 
I  had  never  exactly  seen  hitherto;  indeed,  by  the  after- 
noon, it  was  the  same  hue  to  the  very  horizon,  with  a  clean 
seaboard  on  all  sides.  I  had  the  deep-sea  lead-line  hove 
at  length,  and  found  no  soundings  with  a  hundred  and 
fifty  fathoms;  there  was  neither  land  nor  river,  I  knew,  for 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  coast  of  Arabia;  as 
for  current,  no  trial  I  could  think  of  showed  any;  and  there 
were  now  and  then  patches  of  small  glittering  sea-jellies 
and  sea-lice  to  be  seen  amongst  a  stalk  or  two  of  weed  on 
the  soft  heave  of  the  water,  going  the  way  of  the  breeze.  A 
dozen  or  so  of  Portuguese  men-of-war,  as  they  call  them, 
held  across  our  bows  one  time;  little  pink  blubbers,  with 
their  long  shining  roots  seen  hanging  down  in  the  clear 
of  the  surface,  and  their  little  blue  gauze  sails  with  the 
light  through  them,  ribbed  like  leaves  of  trees,  as  they  kept 
before  the  wind.  Westwood  and  I  both  fancied  we  could 
feel  a  queer,  sulphury  smell  as  we  leaned  over  the  side, 
when  a  surge  came  along  the  bends.  Not  a  single  fish  was  to 
be  seen  about  us,  either,  except  the  long  big  black-fish  that 
rose  one  after  another  at  a  distance,  as  the  wind  got  lighter. 
One  while  you  heard  them  groaning  and  gasping  in  the  half- 
calm,  as  if  it  were  the  breathing  of  the  sea  far  and  wide  every 
time  it  swelled;  another,  one  saw  them  in  a  cluster  of  black 
points  against  the  bright  sky-line,  like  so  many  different 
shaped  rocks  with  the  foam  round  them,  or  a  lot  of  long-boats 
floating  bottom  up,  with  their  back-horns  for  humps  on  the 
keel.  As  for  Jones,  he  looked  graver  and  graver,  till  all  of  a 
sudden  we  saw  him  go  below;  but  after  a  little  he  came  up 
with  an  almanac  in  his  hand,  and  his  finger  fixed  where  the 
time  of  the  next  new  moon  was  given,  as  I  found  when  I  took 
it  from  him,  for  he  seemed  not  inclined  to  speak.  ^Why,  what 
has  that  to  do  with  the  thing?'  I  said.  ^We  are  heading  fair 


378  THE  GREEN  HAND 

for  the  Minicoy  cluster,  I  think.'  'Yes,  sir,'  said  he;  'if  one 
needed  anything  to  prove  that,  he  has  only  to  look  at  the  sea ; 
at  this  season,  1  Itneiv  how  it  would  turn  out.'  'Well,  that 's 
what  I  can't  understand,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I;  'the  water 
seems  as  deep  as  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  thrice  over!' 

"  'Do  you  not  know  then,  sir,  why  that  island  is  called 
— what  it  is?'  was  the  answer.  'But,  wait — wait — till  night!' 
And  with  that  Jones  turned  round  to  the  bulwarks,  leaning 
his  arms  on  the  rail.  In  the  meantime  Jacobs  and  some  of 
the  men  had  drawn  a  bucket  of  water,  which  we  noticed 
them  tasting.  A  pannikin  full  of  it  was  handed  along  to 
the  quarter-deck,  and  the  taste  struck  you  at  once,  owing 
to  the  want  of  the  well-known  briny  twang  of  real  blue 
water,  and  instead  of  that  a  smack  as  it  were  of  iron, 
though  it  was  as  clear  as  crystal.  Every  one  had  a  trial 
of  it  but  Jones  himself;  indeed,  he  never  once  looked 
round,  till  it  had  occurred  to  me  to  pour  the  tin  of  water 
into  a  glass,  and  hold  it  with  my  hand  over  it  inside  the 
shade  of  the  binnacle,  when  I  thought  I  made  out  little 
specks  and  sparks  shooting  and  twisting  about  in  it,  as 
if  the  water  had  a  motion  of  itself;  then  it  seemed  to  sink 
to  the  bottom,  and  all  was  quiet.  Just  then  I  looked  up 
and  caught  Jones's  scared,  restless  sort  of  glance,  as  if  he 
were  uneasy.  There  was  a  strange  life  in  that  man's  brain, 
I  felt,  that  none  could  see  into;  but  owing  as  it  plainly 
was  to  something  far  away  from  the  present  matter,  I 
knew  it  was  best  to  let  him  alone.  In  fact,  his  doing  as 
he  did  showed  well  enough  he  meant  fair  by  ourselves. 
Nothing  on  earth  ever  gave  me  more  the  notion  of  a  wreck 
in  a  man  than  the  kind  of  gaze  out  of  Jones's  two  eyes 
when  he  'd  turn  to  the  light  and  look  at  you,  half  keen, 
half  shrinking,  like  a  man  that  both  felt  himself  above 
you,  and  yet,  somehow  or  other,  you  'd  got  him  under  you. 

"I  'm  blessed  if  I  did  n't  trust  him  more  because  he  had 
been  too  desperate  a  character  in  his  deeds  beforehand  to 
turn  his  mind  to  little  ones  now,  than  for  anything  good 
in  him;  being  one  of  those  fellows  that  work  their  way 
from  one  port  to  another  in  ship's  forecastles,  and  get 
drunk  ashore,  though,  all  the  time,  you  'd  say  there  was  n't 
one  aboard  with  them,  from  the  skipper  to  the  chaplain, 
knew  as  much  or  had  flown  as  high  some  time.  Some  day 
at  sea  the  hands  are  piped  round  the  grating,  hats  off, 
and  the  prayer-book  rigged — down  goes  'Jack  Jones'  with  a 
plash  and  a  bubble  to  his  namesake,  old  'Davy,'  and  you 
hear  no  more  of  him  I 


A  SEA  STORY  379 

"Well,  just  after  sundown,  as  the  dusk  came  on,  West- 
wood  and  I  left  the  deck  to  go  down  to  supper  with  the 
planter,  the  midshipman  being  in  charge.  There  was  noth- 
ing in  sight,  sail  or  land;  indeed,  the  queer  dark-brown  tint 
of  the  horizon  showed  strongly  against  the  sky,  as  if  it 
had  been  the  mahogany  of  the  capstan-head  inside  its  brass 
rim;  the  night  was  cloudy,  with  a  light  breeze,  and  though 
the  stars  came  out,  I  expected  it  to  get  pretty  dark.  As 
I  went  down  the  companion,  I  heard  nothing  but  the  light 
wash  of  the  water  from  her  bows,  and  the  lookout  stepping 
slowly  about  betwixt  her  knight-heads  on  the  forecastle; 
while  it  struck  me  the  smooth  face  of  the  sea  seemed  to 
show  wonderfully  distinct  in  the  dusk,  the  completer  it  got, 
as  if  a  sort  of  light  rose  up  from  off  it.  Down  below  we 
felt  her  stealing  pleasantly  through  all,  and  Tom  and  I  sat 
for  I  did  n't  know  how  long,  trying  to  settle  our  differ- 
ences on  the  main  point — about  the  'Seringapatam,'  of 
course,  and  which  way  she  was  likely  to  be  gone.  Tom 
plumed  himself  mightily  on  his  common-sense  view  of  a 
thing,  and  having  by  this  time  got  back  a  good  deal  of 
his  cheerfulness,  he  and  Mr.  Rollock  almost  laughed  me 
over  to  his  line  of  thinking. 

"We  then  agreed  that  the  ship  must  be  at  present  edging 
up  on  one  side  or  other  of  the  Maldives,  but  both  of  them 
thought  the  less  we  had  to  say  to  her  the  better.  'I  say, 
though,'  exclaimed  the  planter,  whose  face  was  turned  the 
opposite  way  to  ours,  'I  'd  no  idea  it  was  moonlight !'  'Moon- 
light !  there  's  no  moon  till  morning,'  I  said.  'Look  into  tha 
stern-cabin  there,  then!'  said  Bollock;  and  I  turned  round, 
seeing  into  the  door  of  the  after-cabin,  where,  to  my  no 
small  surprise,  there  was  a  bright  white  glare  through  the 
little  square  stern-light,  gleaming  on  the  rim  of  the  sill, 
and  seemingly  off  both  the  air  and  the  water  beyond.  Quito 
confounded,  as  well  as  wondering  what  Snelling  could 
be  about,  I  hurried  up  the  companion,  the  planter  and 
Westwood  hard  at  my  heels. 

"For  so  long  as  I  had  kept  at  sea,  and  a  good  many 
different  latitudes  I  had  been  into,  yet  I  must  say  1 
never  in  my  life  before  saw  such  a  strange  sight  as  broke 
on  us  the  instant  we  put  our  heads  out  of  the  booby-hatch, 
fresh  from  the  lamp-light  in  the  cabin.  Indeed,  I  can't  but 
own  to  my  first  feeling  being  fright;  for  what  it  was  I 
couldn't  understand,  unless  we  were  got  into  a  quarter  of 
the  world  where  things  weren't  natural.  There  were  a  few 
stray  clouds  in  the  sky,  scattered  away  ahead,  and  clearing 


380  THE  GREEN  HAND 

eastward  to  settle  along  before  the  breeze;  all  aloft  of 
us,  high  over  the  sharp  dark  edge  of  the  sails  and  gaffs, 
the  air  seemed  to  open  away  out  pale  and  glimmering 
like  a  reflection  in  the  ice:  all  round  you  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  stars  weakening  and  weakening  toward  the  horizon. 

"But  the  water  itself — that  was  the  sight  that  bewil- 
dered one!  On  every  side  the  whole  sea  lay  spread  out 
smooth,  and  as  white  as  snow — you  could  n't  fancy  how 
wide  it  might  stretch  away  astern  on  our  lee-beam,  for  not 
a  mark  of  horizon  was  to  be  seen,  save  on  the  north- 
west, where  you  made  it  out,  owing  to  the  sky  there  being 
actually  darker  than  the  sea — but  all  the  time  the  wide  face 
of  it  was  of  a  dead  ghastly  paleness,  washing  with  a  swell 
like  milk  to  our  black  counter  as  we  forged  ahead.  It 
was  n't  that  it  shone  in  the  least  like  blue  water  at  night  in 
the  ordinary  tropics — by  Jove!  that  would  have  been  a  com- 
fort— but  you  'd  have  thought  there  was  a  winding-sheet  laid 
over  all,  or  we  were  standing  across  a  level  country  covered 
with  snow — only  when  I  stood  up,  and  watched  the  bows, 
there  was  a  faint  hissing  sparkle  to  be  seen  in  the  ripple's 
edge,  that  first  brought  me  to  myself.  The  Lascars  had 
woke  up  where  they  lay  about  the  caboose,  and  were  cower- 
ing together  for  sheer  terror;  the  men  standing,  each  one 
in  his  place,  and  looking;  while  Jones,  who  had  relieved 
the  midshipman,  leaned  by  himself  with  his  head  on  the 
capstan,  as  if  to  keep  out  the  sight  of  it  all;  the  schooner's 
whole  dusky  length,  in  fact,  with  every  black  figure  on 
her  decks,  and  her  shape  up  to  the  lightest  stick  or  rope 
of  her  aloft,  appearing  strange  enough,  in  the  midst  of  the 
broad  white  glare,  to  daunt  anyone  that  was  n't  acquainted 
with  the  thing.  'Mr.  Jones,'  said  I  quickly,  on  going  up 
to  him,  'what  the  devil  is  this?'  I'll  be  hanged  if  1 
did  n't  begin  to  believe  in  witchcraft  or  something.  'Where 
are  we  getting  to?'  'Nothing,  nothing,  sir,'  said  he,  lifting 
his  head ;  '  't  is  natural  enough ;  only  the  milk-sea,  as  they 
call  it — the  white-water,  sir,  that  comes  down  twice  a  year 
hereabouts  from  God  knows  where — you  only  see  it  so  at — at 
night!' 

"  'Oh,  then,  according  to  that,'  I  said,  'we  shan't  be  long 
of  sighting  yoilr  island,  I  suppose?'  'No,'  said  he;  'if  the 
breeze  freshens  at  all,  keeping  our  present  course,  the  mast- 
head ought  to  hail  it  in  two  or  three  hours;  but,  God  knows, 
Lieutenant  Collins,  natural  though  the  sight  is,  there's 

something  a  man  can't  get  rid  of,  especially  if '  He 

stood  up,  walked  to  the  side,  and  kept  facing  the  whole 


A  SEA  STORY  381 

breadth  of  the  awful-looking  sea,  as  it  were,  till  it  seemed 
to  blind  him.  'I  tell  you  what,  sir,'  said  he  slowly,  'if 
that  water  had  any  use,  a  priest  would  say  't  was  sent 
to  wash  that  same  island  clean  of  what 's  been  done  on  it ; 
but,  it  couldn't,  Mr.  Collins,  it  couldn't,  till  the  day  of 
judgment!"  He  leaned  over  till  his  dark  face  and  his 
shoulders,  to  my  notion,  made  the  milk-white  surge  that 
stole  up  to  the  schooner's  bends  take  a  whiter  look.  'If 
that  water  could  wash  me,  now,'  muttered  he,  'ay,  if  it 
could  only  take  the  soul  out  of  me,  but  I  'd  go  down, 
down  this  moment  to  the  bottom!'  With  that  he  gave  a 
sudden  move  that  made  me  catch  him  by  the  arm.  'No,  no, 
Mr.  Collins,'  said  he,  turning  round;  'the  truth  is,  I  mean 
to  go  through  with  it ;  I  '11  let  it  carry  me  where  I  am  bound 
for!  Wasn't  I  born  without  asking  my  leave,  and  I'll 
kick  the  bucket  the  same  way,  if  it  was  on  a  blasted 
dunghill!'  'Come,  come,  Mr.  Jones,'  said  I,  in  a  soothing 
sort  of  a  way,  'go  below  for  a  little,  and  sleep;  when 
we  hail  the  land  I  '11  have  you  called.'  'I  'd  rather  not,  sir,' 
said  Jones  quietly ;  'the  truth  is,  it  strikes  me  there 's 
something  strange  in  my  happening  to  be  aboard  here,  at 
this  particular  season,  too;  and  see  that  same  island,  now, 
I  must !  It 's  fate,  Lieutenant  Collins,'  added  he ;  'and  i 
must  say,  I  think  it 's  the  more  likely  something  may  turn 
out  there.  Either  you'll  see  that  ship,  or  the  men,  or  else 
I  'II  be  there  myself,  in  some  way  or  other !' 

"Now  there  was  something  in  all  this  that  began  at 
moments  quite  to  bewilder  one,  the  more  excited  the  state 
was  it  put  you  in.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  push 
on,  and  see  what  might  come  of  it.  Indeed,  the  weather 
favored  us  better  on  our  present  course  than  on  any  other; 
and  I  felt,  if  I  didn't  keep  active,  I  should  go  distracted. 
'T  was  almost  as  if  what  Jones  said  had  a  truth  in  it,  and  a 
sort  of  a  power  beyond  one  were  drawing  the  schooner  the 
way  she  steered;  while  at  the  same  time  there  was  every 
little  while  somewhat  new  in  the  extraordinary  looks  of 
things  to  hold  you  anxious.  Even  a  flying  touch  of  a  squall 
.we  had  about  midnight  didn't  the  least  do  away  with  the 
whiteness  of  the  water  all  around;  on  the  contrary,  as  the 
dark  cloud  crept  down  upon  us  widening  on  both  sides  like 
smoke,  the  face  of  the  sea  seemed  to  whiten  and  whiten, 
casting  up  a  ghastly  gleam  across  the  cloud,  with^  its  ripples 
frothing  and  creaming;  till,  not  knowing  how  things  might 
go  hereabouts,  you  almost  expected  the  first  rush  of  the  wind 
to  send  it  all  in  a  flame  to  our  mast-heads. 


382  THE  GREEN   HAND 

"Then  up  she  rose  on  a  surge  like  a  snowdrift,  and  off 
we  drove,  heeling  over  to  it,  gait's  lowered  and  canvas  down, 
everything  lost  sight  of,  save  the  white  sea  heaving  up 
against  the  mist;  while  the  clear-colored  plash  of  it  through 
our  weather  bulwarks  showed  it  was  water  sure  enough. 
The  sqiiall  went  off  to  leeward,  however,  the  rain  hissing 
like  ink  into  the  swell  it  left,  and  spotting  it  all  over  till 
the  last  drops  seemed  to  sink  in  millions  of  separate  sparkles 
as  far  as  you  could  see.  The  schooner  rose  from  one  heave 
to  another  to  an  even  keel  on  the  smooth  length  of  it,  hoist- 
ing her  spanking  gaffs,  hauling  aft  the  sheets,  and  slipping 
ahead  once  more  to  a  breeze  fed  by  the  rain.  As  the  sky 
cleared,  the  dead  white  glare  the  water  sent  up  into  it 
was  such  you  did  n't  know  the  one  from  the  other  toward 
the  horizon;  and  in  the  midst  there  was  only  the  smooth 
faint  surface,  brushing  whiter  with  the  breeze,  as  if  it  was 
nothing  else  kept  it  from  going  out  of  sight;  with  a  few 
streaky  clouds  turning  themselves  out  like  wool  in  a  con- 
fused rift  of  the  air  aloft;  the  schooner  walking  in  it  with- 
out ever  a  glimpse  of  a  shadow  on  one  side  or  another; 
while,  as  for  seeing  a  sail  on  the  horizon,  you  might  as 
well  have  looked  for  a  shred  of  paper.  It  was  n't  light, 
neither,  nor  was  it  haze;  nothing  but  a  dead  color  off  the 
very  sea's  face — for  the  schooner  rose  and  plunged  without 
letting  you  see  a  hair's  breadth  of  her  draught  below  the 
water-line.  Every  man  rubbed  his  eyes,  as  if  it  were  all 
some  kind  of  a  dream,  and  none  the  less  when  suddenly  we 
were  right  upon  a  long  patch  of  black  stripes  winding 
away  through  the  white,  like  so  many  sea-serpents  come  up 
to  breathe,  with  both  ends  of  them  lost  in  the  faintness. 
Nobody  stirred,  or  said,  'Look-out';  stripe  after  stripe  she 
went  slipping  through  them  as  if  they  'd  been  ghosts,  with- 
out a  word  or  an  extra  turn  of  the  wheel.  I  dare  say,  if 
we  had  commenced  to  rise  in  the  air,  every  man  would 
have  held  on  like  grim  death,  but  he  would  n't  have  won- 
dered much ;  't  was  just,  'whatever  might  happen  to  please 
them  as  had  the  managing  of  it,'  which  was  Jacobs'  ob- 
servation when  we  talked  of  it  after. 

"Mr.  Snelling  was  the  only  one  that  ventured  to  pass  a 
joke;  when  Jones,  who  I  thought  was  out  of  hearing,  looked 
at  the  reefer  with  such  a  fierce  glance,  and  so  scornful  at 
the  same  time,  that  I  could  n't  help  connecting  what  hap- 
pened the  very  next  moment  with  it — for  without  the  slight- 
est warning,  both  of  us  were  flung  to  leeward,  and  Snell- 
ing pitched  into  the  scuppers,  as  a  huge  rolling  ridge  of  the 


A  SEA  STORY 


383 


white  water  came  down  upon  our  beam;  while  the  schooner 
broached  to  in  the  wind,  floundering  on  the  swell  with  her 
sails  aback.  Had  the  breeze  been  stronger,  I  think  it  would 
have  fairly  swamped  us  with  the  sternway  she  had;  and 
heave  after  heave  swelled  glaring  and  weltering  out  of  the 
pale  blind  sky,  till  our  decks  swam  with  light  in  the  dusk 
under  the  bulwarks,  and  about  the  dark  mouths  of  the 
hatchways.  Just  as  suddenly  the  rollers  seemed  to  sink  in 
the  smooth  of  the  sea,  and  at  last  we  payed  off  with  the  breeze 
as  before,  at  the  cost  of  a  good  fright  and  a  famous  duck- 
ing. Two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  the  middle  watch 
did  this  happen,  except  that  we  were  taken  less  by  surprise, 
and  had  the  hatches  closed,  with  every  rope  ready  to  let  go; 
the  breeze  strengthening  all  the  time,  and  the  same  sort 
of  look  continuing  all  round  and  aloft.* 

"About  four  o'clock  or  so,  the  appearance  of  the  sky 
near  where  the  horizon  ought  to  be,  right  ahead,  struck 
Westwood  and  me  as  stranger  than  ever;  owing  to  a  long 
lump  of  shadow,  as  it  were,  lying  northward  like  the  shape 
of  a  bow  or  the  round  back  of  a  fish  miles  long,  though  it 
softened  off  at  one  end  into  the  hollow  of  the  air,  and  the 
gleam  of  the  white  water  broke  past  the  other  like  the  streaks 
of  the  northern  lights  in  a  frosty  night  toward  the  Pole, 
save  for  the  thin  shadowy  tint  of  it,  and  the  stars  shin- 
ing plainly  through.  I  'd  have  fancied  it  was  high  land ; 
when  suddenly  the  half-moon  was  seen  to  ooze  like  a  yellow 
spot  out  of  the  shapeless  sort  of  steam  to  eastward,  like  a 


*  The  description  of  this  peculiar  phenomenon  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  as  given 
by  Captain  Collins,  surprised  us  as  much  as  the  reality  seems  to  have  done  him. 
However,  on  consulting  a  seafaring  old  gentleman  of  much  experience  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  we  are  informed  that  such  an  appearance  is  periodically  to 
be  met  with  for  some  distance  between  the  Laccadive  and  Maldive  Islands,  as 
he  had  reason  to  know.  The  old  Dutch  Captain  Stavorinus  also  furnishes  an 
account  substantially  similar,  having  particularly  attended  to  the  cause  of  it 
in  bis  voyage  to  the  East  Indies.  It  reaches  also  to  some  of  the  south-eastern 
islands  at  a  great  distance  from  India,  near  Java — or  at  all  events  appears 
there.  In  the  Atlantic,  Humboldt  says  there  is  a  part  of  the  sea  always  milky, 
although  very  deep,  in  about  57  degrees  W.  longitude,  and  the  parallel  of  the 
island  of  Dominica.  Of  the  same  nature,  probably,  are  the  immense  olive-green 
spaces  and  stripes  seen  in  blue  water  by  Captain  Scoresby  and  others,  toward 
the  ice  of  the  north  polar  regions.  The  pale  sea  alluded  to  is  supposed  cither 
to  move  from  the  shores  of  Arabia  Felix,  and  the  gulfs  in  that  coast,  or,  by 
some,  to  arise  from  sulphureous  marine  exhalations — appearing  to  rot  the 
bottoms  ot  vessels,  and  to  frighten  the  fish.  Both  at  the  Laccadives  and  near 
Java  it  is  seen  twice  a  year,  often  with  a  heavy  rolling  of  the  sea  and  bad 
weather.  The  first  time,  at  the  new  moon  in  June,  it  is  called  by  the  Dutch 
the  "  little  white-water" ;  again,  at  the  new  moon  in  August,  the  "  great  white- 
water"  ;  by  English  seamen,  generally,  the  "  milk-sea,"  or  the  "  blink." 


384  THE  GREEN  HAND 

thing  nobody  knew,  shedding  a  faint  brown  glimmer  far 
below,  where  you  had  n't  seen  there  was  water  at  all. 

"The  bank  of  shadow  softened  away  towards  her,  till  in 
little  more  than  five  minutes  the  dark  rippling  line  of  the 
sea  was  made  out,  drawn  across  the  dusk  as  if  it  had  been 
the  wide  mouth  of  a  frith  in  the  polar  ice,  opening  far 
on  our  weather-bow.  A  soft  blue  shimmering  tint  stole 
out  on  it  by  contrast,  leaving  the  milk-white  glare  still 
spread  everywhere  else,  astern,  ahead,  and  on  our  lee-beam, 
into  the  sightless  sky :  't  was  the  old  blue  water  we  caught 
sight  of  once  more,  with  the  natural  night  and  the  stars 
hanging  over  it;  and  the  lookout  aloft  reported  blue  water 
stretching  wide  off  to  the  nor'ard.  There  was  one  full 
hurrah  from  the  seamen  in  the  bows,  and  they  ran  of 
themselves  naturally  enough  to  the  ropes,  standing  by  to 
haul  the  schooner  on  a  wind — to  head  up  for  the  old  salt 
sea,  no  doubt. 

"  'Lieutenant  Collins,'  said  Jones,  in  a  low  voice,  'do  you 
mean  to  steer  for  that  island,  sir?'  'Yes,'  I  said,  'cer- 
tainly, Mr.  Jones — I  shall  see  this  matter  out,  whatever  the 
upshot  may  be!'  'Then  keep  on,  sir,'  said  he  firmly,  'keep 
in  the  white  water — 't  is  your  only  plan  to  near  it  safely, 
sir !'  This  I  did  n't  well  understand ;  but,  by  Jove !  there 
was  so  much  out  of  the  common  way  hereabouts,  that  1 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  follow  his  advice.  Another  hail 
from  aloft,  at  length — 'Something  black  on  our  lee-bow,  sir 
— right  in  the  eye  cf  the  white  it  is,  sir!'  We  were  now 
running  fast  down  in  the  direction  where  there  was  least 
possibility  of  seeing  ahead  at  all,  although,  in  fact,  the  little 
moonshine  we  had,  evidently  began  to  make  this  puzzling 
hue  of  the  surface  less  distinct — turning  it  of  a  queer  ashy 
drab,  more  and  more  like  the  brown  we  noticed  by  day- 
time; while  the  light  seemed  as  it  were  to  scoop  out  the 
hollow  of  the  sky  aloft,  when  a  dark  spot  or  two  could  be 
observed  from  the  deck,  dotting  the  milky  space  over  one 
bow — -you  could  n't  say  whether  in  the  air  or  the  water, 
as  they  hung  blackening  and  growing  together  before  us 
through  below  the  foot  of  the  jib. 

"Larger  and  larger  it  loomed  as  we  stood  before  the 
breeze,  till  there  was  no  doubt  we  had  the  bulk  of  a  small, 
low  island  not  far  to  windward  of  us,  a  couple  of  points 
or  thereabouts  on  our  larboard  bow  when  she  fell  off  a 
little — lying  with  the  ragged  outline  of  it  rising  to  a  top 
near  one  end,  its  shape  stretched  black  and  distinct  in  the 
midst  of  the  pale  sea;  while  the  white  water  was  to  be  seen 


A  SEA  STORY  385 

taking  close  along  the  edge  of  the  island,  showing  every 
rock  and  point  of  it  in  the  shadow  of  the  moon,  till  it 
seemed  to  turn  away  all  of  a  sudden  like  a  current  into  the 
broad  dreamy  glimmer  that  still  lay  south-eastward.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  island  you  saw  the  dark  sea-ripples 
flickering  to  the  faint  moonlight,  and  some  two  or  three 
more  patches  of  flat  land  just  tipping  the  horizon,  with  the 
thin  cocoanut  trees  on  them  like  reeds  against  the  stars  and 
the  dusk;  while  the  one  nearest  us  was  sufficiently  marked 
out  to  have  saved  me  the  trouble  even  of  the  look  I 
gave  Jones,  which  he  answered  by  another.  'You  have  seven 
or  eight  fathoms  water  here,  sir,'  added  he;  'and  as  soon 
as  she  rounds  the  point  yonder,  we  can  shoal  it  by  degrees 
to  any  anchorage  you  like,  as  long  as  we  keep  in  the 
white  water — but  we  must  hold  to  it!'  It  was  accordingly 
found  so  with  the  lead,  and  ere  long,  having  kept  past 
the  point,  the  same  milky  hue  could  be  noticed  as  it  were 
jagging  off  through  the  darker  water,  and  winding  away 
hither  and  thither  all  round  the  other  side,  till  you  lost  it. 

"However,  here  we  brailed  up  and  hauled  down  every- 
thing, letting  go  an  anchor  little  more  than  half  a  mile 
from  a  small  sloping  beach,  where  the  strange  water  actually 
surged  up  through  the  shadow  of  the  land,  in  one  glitter- 
ing sheet  like  new-fallen  snow,  while  the  back-wash  seethed 
down  into  it  all  along  the  edge  in  perfect  fire.  Nothing 
stirred  on  it,  apparently;  not  a  sound  came  from  it,  save 
the  low  wash  of  the  surf  on  that  lonely  bare  beach;  and 
you  only  made  out  that  part  of  the  island  was  covered 
with  trees,  with  the  ground  rising  to  a  flat-topped  hum- 
mock toward  one  end.  So  being  pretty  wearied  by  this 
time,  impatient  though  I  was  for  a  clearer  view  of  mat- 
ters, most  of  us  turned  in,  leaving  the  deck  to  a  ^  strong 
anchor-watch,  in  charge  of  Jones— especially  as  it  was 
towards  morning,  and  the  breeze  blowing  fresh  over  the 
Island  through  our  ropes.  But  if  ever  a  man  walked  the 
deck  overhead  in  a  fashion  to  keep  you  awake,  it  was 
Jones  that  morning:  faster  and  faster  he  went,  till  you  d 
have  thought  he  ran;  then  there  was  a  stop,  when  you  felt 
him  thinking,  and  off  he  posted  again.  No  wonder,  by 
George!  I  had  ugly  dreams! 


386  THE  GREEN  HAND 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

"I  COULD  scarce  believe  it  was  n't  a  dream  still,  when, 
having  been  called  half  an  hour  after  daybreak,  1  first  saw 
the  change  in  the  appearance  of  things  all  about  us.  The 
horizon  lay  round  as  ciear  as  heart  couid  wish — not  a  speck 
in  sight  save  the  little  dingy  islets  at  a  distance;  the 
broad  blue  ocean  sparkling  far  away  on  one  side,  and  the 
water  to  windward,  in  the  direction  we  had  come,  showing 
the  same  brownish  tint  we  had  seen  the  day  before,  while 
it  took  the  island  before  us  in  its  bight,  and  turned  off 
eastward  with  the  breeze  till  it  spread  against  the  open 
sky.  Ihe  top  of  the  land  was  high  enough  to  shut  out  the 
sea-line,  and,  being  low  water  at  the  time,  it  was  plain 
enough  now  why  Jones  wished  to  keep  the  white  streaks 
over-night;  for,  where  the  dingy-colored  ripples  melted  on 
the  other  side  towards  the  blue,  you  could  see  by  the  spots 
of  foam,  and  the  greenish  breaks  here  and  there  in  the  sur- 
face, that  all  that  coast  of  the  island  was  one  network  of 
shoals  and  reefs,  stretching  out  you  did  n't  know  how  wide. 
White-water  Island,  in  fact,  was  merely  the  hea'd  of  them 
— the  milky  stream  that  had  so  startled  us  just  washing 
round  the  deep  end  of  it,  and  edging  fair  along  the  side 
of  the  reefs,  with  a  few  creeks  sent  in  amongst  them,  as  it 
were,  like  feelers,  ere  it  flowed  the  other  way :  we  could  n't. 
otherwise  have  got  so  near  as  we  were.  But  the  island 
itself  was  the  sight  to  fasten  you,  as  the  lovely  green  of  it 
shone  out  in  the  morning  sun,  covering  the  most  part  of 
it  close  over,  and  tipping  up  beyond  the  bare  break  where 
it  was  steepest,  with  a  clump  of  tall  cocoas  shooting  every 
here  and  there  out  of  the  thick  bush;  indeed,  there  was  ap- 
parently a  sort  of  split  lengthways  through  the  midst,  where, 
upon  only  walking  to  the  schooner's  bow,  one  could  see  the 
bright  greenwood  sinking  down  to  a  hollow  out  of  sight, 
under  the  clear  gush  of  the  breeze  off  a  dark  blue  patch  of 
the  sea  that  hung  beyond  it  like  a  wedge. 

"As  the  tide  made  over  the  long  reefs,  till  the  last  line  of 
surf  on  them  vanished,  it  went  up  the  little  sandy  cove  op- 
posite us  with  a  plash  on  the  beach  that  you  could  hear; 
the  place  was  just  what  a  sailor  may  have  had  a  notion  of 
all  his  life,  without  exactly  seeing  it  till  then;  and  though 
as  yet  one  had  but  a  rough  guess  of  its  size,  why,  it  could  n't 
be  less  than  a  couple  of  miles  from  end  to  end,  with  more 


A  SEA  STORY  387 

than  that  breadth,  perhaps,  at  the  low  side  toward  the  reefs. 
JSlot  a  soul  amongst  the  man-o'-war's-men,  I  dare  say,  as 
they  pressed  togmner  in  the  schooner's  Lows  to  see  into 
it,  but  would  have  taken  his  traps  that  moment,  if  I'd 
told  him,  and  gone  ashore  on  the  chance  of  passing  his 
days  there ;  so  it  was  n't  hard  to  conceive,  from  the  state 
it  seemed  to  put  their  rough,  sunburnt  faces  in,  honest  as 
they  looked,  how  a  similar  fancy  would  work  with  Master 
Harry  Foster,  even  if  it  tried  his  virtue  a  little. 

"I  had  no  more  doubt  in  my  mind,  by  this  time,  of  its 
being  the  fellow's  intended  'hermitage/  than  I  had  of  its 
being  the  same  White-water  Island  I  had  heard  of  myself, 
or  the  spot  which  Jones  seemed  to  know  so  well;  't  was  likely 
the  foremast-man  had  got  inkling  of  it  somewhat  in  the 
way  I  did;  and,  lying,  as  it  happened  to  do,  between  no 
less  than  three  channels  which  the  Indiaman  might  take, 
after  dodging  us  in  this  fashion  round  the  long  cluster 
of  the  Maldives,  she  could  n't  make  north-westward  again 
for  the  open  sea  without  setting  Foster  and  his  mates  pretty 
well  upon  their  trip. 

"Indeed,,  if  she  were  to  eastward  of  the  chain  at  present, 
as  I  was  greatly  inclined  to  believe,  the  course  of  the  breeze 
made  it  impossible  for  her  to  do  otherwise;  but  there 
was  one  thing  always  kept  lurking  about  my  mind,  like  a 
cover  to  something  far  worse  that  I  did  n't  venture  to 
dwell  upon — namely,  that  Captain  Finch  might  get  wind 
of  their  purpose,  and  drive  them  on  another  tack  by  knock- 
ing it  on  the  head,  either  at  the  time  or  beforehand,  with- 
out the  courage  to  settle  them.  Nothing  in  the  world  would 
have  pleased  me  better  than  to  pounce  upon  ugly  Harry,  at 
his  first  breakfast  ashore  here;  but  the  bare  horizon, 
and  the  quiet  look  of  the  island  since  ever  we  hove  in 
sight  of  it,  showed  this  wasn't  to  be.  At  any  rate,  how- 
ever,. I  was  bent  on  seeing  how  the  land  lay,  and  what  sort 
of  a  place  it  was;  so,  accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  hands 
had  got  breakfast,  Westwood  and  I  at  once  pulled  ashore, 
with  a  boat's-crew  well  armed,  to  overhaul  it.  We  found 
the  sandy  beach  covered,  for  a  good  way  up,  with  a  frothy 
slime  that  no  doubt  came  from  the  water  on  that  side,  with 
ever  so  many  different  kinds  of  blubber,  sea-jelly,  star- 
fish, and  shell,  while  the  rocky  edge  round  to  windward 
was  hung  with  weed  that  made  the  blocks  below  it  seem 
to  rise  out  of  every  surge,  like  green-headed,  white-bearded 
mermen  bathing.  Glad  enough  we  were  to  get  out  of  the 
queer,  sulphury  smell  all  this  stuff  gave  out  in  the  heat, 


388  THE  GREEN  HAND 

letting  the  men  take  every  one  his  own  way  into  the  bushes, 
which  they  enjoyed  like  as  many  schoolboys,  and  making 
ourselves  right  for  the  highest  point.  Here  we  saw  over, 
through  the  cocoanut  trees  and  wild  trailing-plants  below, 
down  upon  a  broad  bushy  level  towards  the  reefs. 

"It  was  far  the  widest  way  of  the  island;  indeed  making 
it  apparently  several  miles  to  go  round  to  the  different 
points;  and  as  the  men  were  to  hold  right  to  windward,  and 
meet  again  after  beating  the  entire  ground,  Westwood  and 
I  struck  fair  through  amongst  the  tangle  of  wood,  to  see 
the  flat  below. 

"We  roused  out  a  good  many  small  birds  and  paroquets, 
and  several  goats  could  be  noticed  looking  at  us  off  the 
grassy  bits  of  crag  above  the  trees,  though  they  did  n't  seem 
to  know  what  we  were.  As  for  most  of  the  wood,  it  was" 
mainly  such  bushes  and  brush  as  thrive  without  water, 
with  a  bright  green  flush  of  grass  and  plants  after  the  rain 
at  the  monsoon,  the  prickly  pear  creeping  over  the  sandy 
parts,  till  we  came  on  a  track  where  some  spring  or  other 
apparently  oozed  down  from  the  height,  soaking  in  little 
rank  spots  amongst  the  ground  leaves,  with  here  and  there 
a  small  rusty  plash  about  the  grass  blades,  as  if  there  were 
tar  or  iron  in  it.  Here  there  were  taller  trees  of  different 
kinds  on  both  sides,  dwindling  off  into  the  lower  bush, 
while,  to  my  surprise,  some  of  them  were  such  as  you  'd 
never  have  expected  to  meet  with  on  an  island  of  the  size, 
so  far  off  the  land — bananas,  mangoes,  a  shaddock  or  two, 
and  a  few  more,  common  enough  in  India;  though  here  they 
must  evidently  have  been  planted,  the  cocoas  being  the  only 
sort  natural  to  the  place,  and  of  them  there  were  plenty 
below.  Suddenly  it  led  down  into  a  shady  hollow,  out  of 
sight  of  the  sea  altogether,  where  we  came  on  what  seemed  to 
have  been  a  perfect  garden  some  time  or  other;  there  were 
two  or  three  large  broad-leaved  shaddock-trees,  and  one  or 
two  others,  with  a  heap  of  rubbish  in  the  midst  of  the  wild 
Indian  corn  and  long  grass,  some  broken  bamboo-stakes 
standing,  besides  a  piece  of  plank  scattered  here  and  there 
about  the  bushes. 

"Right  under  the  shade  of  the  trees  was  a  hole  like  the 
mouth  of  a  draw-well,  more  than  brimful  at  the  time 
with  the  water  from  the  spring,  for,  owing  to  the  late  rains, 
it  made  a  pool  close  by  the  side,  and  went  trickling  away 
down  amongst  the  brushwood.  Every  twig  and  leaf  grew 
straight  up  or  out,  save  in  a  narrow  tr.ack  toward  the  rising 
ground — no  doubt  made  by  the  goats,  as  we  noticed  the 


A  SEA  STORY  389 

prints  of  their  hoofs  on  the  wet  mud.  'T  was  evident  no 
human  being  had  been  there  for  Heaven  knew  how  long, 
since,  by  the  care  that  had  been  taken  with  the  place, 
it  was  probably  the  only  spring  in  the  island — perhaps  for 
leagues  and  leagues  round  indeed.  Trees,  branches,  green 
grass,  and  all — they  had  such  a  still,  moveless  air  under  the 
heat  and  light,  in  the  lee  of  the  high  ground,  with  just  a 
blue  spot  or  two  of  the  sea  seen  high  up  through  the 
sharp  shaddock-leaves,  and  the  cool-looking  plash  of  water 
below  them,  that  Westwood  and  I  sat  down  to  wait  till  we 
heard  the  men.  Still  there  was  a  terribly  distinct,  par- 
ticular cast  about  the  whole  spot,  which,  taken  together 
with  the  ruin  and  confusion,  as  well  as  the  notion  of  Foster 
and  his  shipmates  actually  plotting  to  come  there,  gave  one 
almost  an  idea  of  the. whole  story  beforehand,  dim  as  that 
was — the  longer  you  looked  the  more  horrid  it  seemed. 
Neither  natives  nor  a  single  man  could  have  brought  the 
different  trees  to  the  island,  or  contrived  a  tank-well  of 
the  kind,  seeing  it  was  apparently  deep  enough  to  supply 
a  ship's  casks,  while  at  the  same  time  I  could  n't  help  think- 
ing some  one  had  lived  there  since  it  was  made,  or  perhaps 
much  used. 

"By  the  space  taken  up  with  the  hut  that  had  been  there, 
and  the  little  change  in  the  wild  state  of  things,  most 
likely  it  was  by  himself  he  had  been,  and  for  no  short  time. 
It  looked,  however,  as  if  he  had  been  carried  off  in  the  end, 
otherwise  his  bones  would  have  been  hereabouts;  probably 
savages,  as  Westwood  and  I  concluded  from  the  scatter 
they  had  made  of  his  premises.  For  my  own  part,  I  won- 
dered whether  Jones  might  n't  have  been  the  man,  in  which 
case  most  of  that  disturbed  mind  he  showed  lately  might 
come  of  remembering  the  dreary  desolate  feelings  one  must 
have,  living  long  on  a  desert  island.  No  doubt  they  had 
'marooned'  him  for  something  or  other,  such  as  not  being 
a  bloody  enough  captain;  and  I  could  as  easily  fancy  one 
having 'a  spice  of  madness  in  him,  after  years  ashore  here, 
as  in  Captain  Wallis  after  a  French  prison.  Still  it 
startled  one  to  see  one's  face  in  the  black  of  the  well: 
and  we  couldn't  make  up  our  minds  to  drink  out  of  it. 
Even  the  pool  at  its  side  had  a  queer  taste,  I  thought— 
but  that  may  have  been  all  a  notion.  All  at  once,  by  the 
edge  of  this  same  pool,  Westwood  pointed  out  two  or  three 
marks  that  surprised  us  both,  being  quite  different  from 
what  the  goat-  conM  have  made;  and  on  observing  closer, 
they  were  made  out  to  be  more  like  the  paws  of  a  wild 


390  THE  GREEN   HAND 

beast  stamped  in  the  mud.  'By  Jove!'  I  said,  'no  wolves 
on  the  island,  surely!'  'All  of  them  seem  to  stick  to  the 
pool  in  preference  to  the  well,  at  any  rate,'  said  Tom; 
'they  appear  to  have  the  same  crotchet  with  ourselves,  Ned!' 
'Strange!'  said  I,  'what  the  devil  can  it  be?' 

"Westwood  eyed  the  prints  over  and  over.  'What  do  you 
think  of — a  dog?'  he  asked.  'Good  heavens!'  exclaimed  I, 
looking  down — 'yes!'  and  there  we  sat  gazing  at  the  thing, 
and  musing  over  it,  with  somehow  or  other  a  curious  creep- 
ing of  the  blood,  for  my  part,  that  I  can't  describe  the 
reason  of.  At  last  we  heard  the  men  hallooing  to  each 
other  on  the  level  beneath,  when  we  hurried  down,  and 
coasted  round  till  we  came  upon  the  boat  again,  where  the 
coxswain  was  amusing  himself  gathering  shells  for  home — 
and  we  pulled  back  to  the  schooner. 

"My  first  resolve  after  this  was  to  keep  before  the  breeze 
again,  try  to  get  sight  of  the  ship,  and  tell  Finch  out  and 
out,  as  I  ought  to  have  done  at  once,  what  was  afoot  amongst 
his  crew;  or  else  to  let  Sir  Charles  Hyde  know  of  it, 
and  make  him  a  bold  offer  of  a  passage  to  Calcutta.  However, 
I  soon  saw  this  would  n't  do ;  and  a  regular  puzzle  I  found 
myself  in,  betwixt  inclining  to  stick  to  the  island  and 
catch  Foster  if  he  came,  and  wishing  to  know  how  the 
Indiaman  stood  on  her  course  if  he  did  n't.  Jones  must 
have  read  my  thoughts  as  I  leaned  upon  the  capstan,  looking 
from  White-water  Island  to  the  horizon  and  back  again ; 
for  he  stepped  aft,  and  said  in  a  low  voice,  'Lieutenant 
Collins,  there 's  one  thing  I  did  n't  tell  you  about  that 
island  before,  because,  as  I  said,  I  was  n't  at  first  sure  it  was 
the  one  the  men  meant;  it  may  help  to  decide  you,  sir,'  said 
he,  gravely.  'Ah?'  I  said.  'In  that  island,'  he  went  on, 
his  ordinarily  dark  face  as  pale  as  death,  'there  is  enough 
gold,  at  this  moment,  to  buy  half  an  English  county — 
ay,  and  better  than  gold,  seeing  that  only  one  man  knows  the 
spot  where  it  is,  and  he  would  rather  sail  round  the  world 
without  a  shirt  to  his  back  than  touch  one  filing  of  the 
—hell's  dross !' 

"I  looked  at  Jones  in  perfect  amaze  as  he  added,  'You 
may  fancy  now,  Mr.  Collins,  whether  if  a  man  of  the  kind 
happened  to  get  wind  of  this,  he  would  not  stir  heaven  and 
earth  to  reach  the  place?  But,  rather  than  that  gold  should 
come  into  living  hands,'  said  he  fiercely,  'I  would  wait  for 
them  by  myself — ay,  alone — alone';  and  a  shudder  seemed  to 
run  through  him  again  as  he  gave  another  glance  to  the 
island.  For  my  part,  I  drew  a  long  breath.  What  he  men- 


A  SEA  STORY  39! 

tioned  had  all  at  once  relieved  my  mind  wonderfully;  for  if 
this  was  Master  Foster's  cue,  as  I  now  saw  it  must  have  been 
the  whole  voyage  over,  why,  he  would  be  just  as  sure  not  to 
spread  the  thing  widely,  as  he  would  be  to  get  here  some  time, 
if  he  could.  On  second  thoughts,  it  was  n't  so  plain  how  the 
rest  of  the  crew  might  work  with  it,  on  the  least  inkling ;  but 
inclined  as  I  naturally  was  to  look  upon  the  best  side  of  the 
matter,  you  need  n't  wonder  at  my  making  up  my  mind  as  I 
did.  The  short  and  the  long  of  it  was  that,  in  an  hour  more, 
Jones  and  myself,  with  Jacobs  and  four  other  good  hands — 
and,  somewhat  to  my  annoyance,  Mr.  Rollock,  who  persisted 
in  coming — were  pulling  back  for  the  island;  while  the 
schooner,  under  care  of  Westwood  and  Snelling,  was  hauled 
on  a  wind  to  stand  up  across  the  Nine  Degrees  Channel,  which 
the  Indiaman  would  no  doubt  take  as  the  safest  course  for 
Western  India,  if  all  went  well,  and  supposing  1  had  reckoned 
correctly  why  we  missed  her  so  long.  In  that  case,  three  or 
four  days  at  most  could  n't  fail  to  bring  her  up;  and  on  first 
sighting  her  at  the  horizon,  they  could  easily  enough  strip  the 
schooner  to  her  sticks,  keeping  her  stern  on  so  as  to  let  the 
ship  pass  without  noticing  the  loom  of  so  small  a  craft; 
whereas  if  they  did  n't  see  her  at  all,  in  that  time,  they  were 
to  bear  up  before  the  wind  again  for  the  island.  Of  all 
things,  and  every  circumstance  being  considered,  I  agreed 
with  Westwood  it  was  best  not  to  come  across  her  again,  if  we 
could  help  it. 

"For  our  own  part,  in  the  boat,  we  were  fully  provisioned 
and  armed  for  all  the  time  we  could  need,  not  to  speak  of 
what  the  island  itself  afforded;  and  after  watching  the 
schooner  stand  heeling  off  to  sea,  round  the  deep  end  of  it,  we 
cruised  close  along,  not  for  the  beach  this  time,  but  seeking 
for  a  cove  in  the  rocks  where  the  Voat  could  be  hauled  up  out 
of  sight,  and  safe  from  the  surf  at  high  water.  This  we 
were  n't  very  long  of  finding  behind  some  blocks  that  broke 
the  force  of  the  surge,  where  the  wild  green  trailers  from 
above  crept  almost  down  to  the  seaweed;  and  after  helping 
them  a  little  to  hide  her  perfectly,  the  whole  of  us  scrambled 
ashore.  The  first  thing  was  to  post  a  lookout  on  the  highest 
point,  the  sharp  little  peak  next  to  the  reef  side,  overlook- 
ing the  spring  and  the  level  ground  betwoe'i :  on  the  other  Birti 
of  the  long  green  valley,  full  of  bush  in  the  midst,  was  the 
flat-topped  rise  towards  the  brown  water,  from  which  I  and 
the  planter  watched  the  schooner  softening  for  an  hour  or  two, 
till  she  reached  the  blue  sea-gleam,  and  lessened  to  a  speck. 
By  that  time,  the  men  had  pitched  a  little  canvas  tent  on  the 


392  THE  GREEN   HAND 

slope  opposite  to  us,  over  the  hollow — Jones  evidently  being 
anxious  to  keep  clear  of  the  spot,  which  somebody  eise  had 
picked  out  beforehand;  in  fact  the  highest  ground  was  be- 
twixt us  and  it;  and  on  coming  down  through  the  thicket  to 
our  quarters,  after  a  stroll  in  which  Rollock  shot  a  couple  of 
rose-colored  paroquets,  declaring  them  to  be  splendid  eating, 
we  found  Jones  had  had  to  send  over  the  other  way  for 
water. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"I  WOKE  up  in  the  tent  perhaps  an  hour  before  midnight,  as 
I  judged  on  looking  through  the  opening  at  the  stars  that 
shone  in  the  dark  sky  through  the  north-east  end  of  the  valley 
above  the  sea.  At  the  other  end,  being  higher,  you  just  saw 
the  scattered  heads  of  the  bushes  against  a  pale  floating  glim- 
mer of  air,  with  a  pale  streak  of  horizon.  Behind  us  was  the 
height  where  we  had  the  lookout,  and  in  front  the  flat  top  of 
the  crag  drawn  somehow  or  other  as  distinct  as  possible  upon 
the  faint  starlight  in  that  quarter,  roughening  away  down  on 
both  sides  into  the  brushwood  and  dwarf  cocoanut  trees. 
With  the  stillness  of  the  place  all  round,  the  bare  sight  of 
that  particular  point  gave  me  a  dreamy,  desolate,  ghastly  sort 
of  feeling,  beyond  aught  I  ever  saw  in  my  life  before:  it  was 
choking  hot  and  heavy  inside,  and  seemingly  throughout  the 
hollow,  though  a  good  deal  of  dew  began  to  fall,  glistening  on 
the  dark  green  bushes  nearest  us,  and  standing  in  drops  on 
the  fern-like  cocoa  leaves  which  Jacobs  and  the  other  men  had 
roofed  themselves  with.  They  were  sound  asleep ;  and  the 
glimpse  of  the  soles  of  their  shoes  and  their  knees,  sticking 
out  of  the  shadow  you  saw  their  rough  faces  in,  with  the  sight 
of  their  cutlass-hilts,  served  to  give  one  a  still  wilder  notion 
of  the  place.  One  felt  scarce  sure  of  being  able  to  wake  them, 
in  case  of  anything  turning  up;  and,  at  any  rate,  a  dread 
came  over  you  of  its  being  possibly  somewhat  unnatural 
enough  to  make  the  thing  useless. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  planter  kept  up  such  a  confounded 
snoring  inside  the  canvas  close  by  me, that  although  there  was 
no  doubt  of  his  being  alive,  the  sound  of  it  put  stranger 
thoughts  into  your  head.  Sometimes  his  breath  would  bo 
jogging  on  like  that  of  a  tolerably  ordinary  mortal,  then  get 
by  degrees  perfectly  quiet ;  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  go  rising 


A  SEA  STORY  393 

and  rising,  faster  and  faster,  as  if  some  terrible  dream  had 
hold  of  him,  or  there  was  some  devilish  monster  hard  in  chase 
of  his  soul,  till  out  it  broke  into  a  fearful  snort  that  made 
your  very  heart  jump — whereupon  he  'd  lie  as  if  he  were  fin- 
ished, then  go  through  the  whole  story  again.  I  can't  tell  you 
how  that  cursed  noise  troubled  me ;  't  was  no  use  shoving  arid 
speaking  to  him,  and  ail  the  time  the  old  boy  was  evidently 
quite  comfortable,  by  something  he  said  at  last  about  'indigo 
being  up.'  The  best  I  could  do  was  to  get  out  and  leave  him 
to  himself ;  in  fact,  where  Jones  had  gone  at  the  time  I  did  n't 
know,  till  suddenly  I  caught  sight  of  his  dark  figure  standing 
on  the  rise  at  the  back  of  our  post,  and  went  up  to  him. 
Jones  was  certainly  a  strange  mixture,  for  here  had  he  been 
all  round  the  low  side  of  the  island  by  himself,  yet  I  found 
him  leaning  bareheaded  on  the  barrel  of  his  musket,  listening 
like  a  deer.  He  assured  me  solemnly  he  thought  he  had 
heard  voices  for  the  last  hour  on  the  other  side,  where  he 
had  n't  been,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  go  with  him  to  see. 
Then  down  came  our  lookout  from  the  peak,  rolling  through 
the  bushes  like  a  sea-crow,  to  report  his  not  having  seen  any- 
thing, and  to  say  they'd  forgot  to  relieve  him  aloft;  so  rous- 
ing up  Jacobs,  I  sent  them  both  back  together,  while  Jones 
and  I  held  the  opposite  way  for  the  other  height. 

"The  moment  we  had  got  to  it,  there  was  the  same  faint 
blotted-out  horizon  as  we  had  had  all  astern  of  us  the  night 
before,  the  same  strange  unnatural  paleness  cast  off  the  face 
of  the  sea,  making  it  look  black  by  contrast  to  north-eastward 
and  east,  against  the  blue  shadow  with  the  bright  stars  in  it, 
where  the  sea  rippled  as  usual ;  while  the  keenest  glare  in  the 
middle  seemed  to  stream  right  to  the  breast  of  the  island,  like 
the  reflection  of  daylight  down  a  long  break  in  the  ice — only 
it  was  dead  and  ghastly  to  behold.  The  white  water  washed 
round  under  the  black  edge  of  the  rocks  before  us,  to  the 
bare  sloping  beach,  where  it  came  up  fairly  like  a  wide  plash 
of  milk,  glimmering  and  sparkling  back  amongst  the  little 
sea-creatures  you  fancied  you  saw  moving  and  crawling  out 
or  in :  till  it  ran  along  by  where  the  reefs  were,  and  turned  off 
to  the  dim  sky  again.  Everything  else  was  still,  and  Jones 
drew  a  breath  like  one  relieved:  'Nothing  after  all,  I  think, 
sir!'  said  he.  But  to  my  mind  there  was  something  a  long 
sight  more  awful  in  the  look  of  that  unaccountable  white 
water  bearing  down  like  snow  upon  the  island,  as  it  were, 
with  the  wrinkles  and  eddies  to  be  seen  faintly  in  it  here  and 
there  back  toward  the  glaring  breadth  of  it,  and  the  floating 
streaks  in  the  sky  above;  especially  when  he  told  me  he 


394  THE  GREEN  HAND 

thought  it  was  owing  to  millions  upon  millions  of  living 
things  in  it,  that  made  the  same  show  there  at  two  different 
seasons  in  the  year,  for  a  week  or  so  at  a  time — the  appear- 
ance of  it  getting  less  distinct  every  night. 

"However,  I  had  begun  to  grow  uneasy  again  about  the 
Indiaman,  and  the  schooner  too,  as  well  as  doubtful  of  the 
fellows  coming  to  the  island  at  all;  on  the  contrary,  as  I  said 
to  Jones,  if  they  saw  the  schooner,  and  Westwood  did  n't 
manage  as  I  told  him,  why  both  she,  the  ship,  and  ourselves 
might  possibly  get  the  finishing-stroke  altogether.  'The 
more  I  think  of  it,'  said  I,  'the  more  foolish  it  seems  to  be 
here  instead  of  aboard!'  'Why  it  is,  Mr.  Collins,  I  don't 
know,'  replied  Jones,  'yet  I  feel  as  sure  these  men  will  land 
here  as  if  I  heard  them  in  the  woods ;  and  if  I  was  n't  aware 
how  one  crime  breeds  another,  for  my  part  I  should  n't  be 
here  at  present,  sir.  Many  a  night  afloat  has  the  thought  of 
this  place  weighed  on  me,  lest  there  was  something  new  doing 
in  it ;  but  what 's  buried  here  I  'm  resolved  no  man  shall  stir 
up,  if  I  can  help  it,  sir!'  A  little  after,  as  we  got  up  and 
went  down  to  the  beach,  all  of  a  sudden — like  a  thing  he 
could  n't  avoid — Jones  began  to  give  me  some  snatches  of 
what  had  happened  here  some  years  before,  which,  according 
to  him,  he  had  got  from  a  shipmate  of  his  that  died;  and  I 
must  say  it  made  the  blood  creep  in  me  to  listen  to  it. 

"'At  the  beginning  of  the  war,'  he  said,  'the  island  had 
been  a  nest  of  regular  pirates,  who  had  taken  pains  to  make 
it,  from  a  mere  muddy  head  of  a  reef  with  some  cocoas  upon 
it,  probably  into  a  resort  on  occasions — especially  as  even  the 
wild  Maldive  natives  to  southward  had  somehow  a  dislike  to 
it.  The  whole  gang  being  taken  by  some  cruiser  or  other  at 
sea,  however,  too  far  off  to  leave  any  clew  to  their  harborage 
hereabouts,  they  were  all  hanged,  and  the  place  lost  sight 
of,  till,  a  good  many  years  after,  a  country  Arab  craft,  bound 
for  Dacca  up  the  Ganges,  was  driven  in  a  gale  upon  the  reefs 
some  way  off,  without  seeing  the  island  at  all  till  the  sea  went 
down,  and  she  was  going  to  pieces. 

"  'There  were  only  two  Europeans  aboard,  both  having 
turned  Mussulmans,  and  the  youngest  of  them  was  mate. 
There  was  a  passenger,  a  native  Indian  merchant,  and  his 
servants,  with,  as  was  believed,  his  harem  below  in  the  after- 
cabins,  for  nobody  ever  had  seen  them;  but  the  Arab  rais  of 
the  vessel  and  several  more  being  washed  off  when  she  struck, 
the  other  Mussulmans  took  to  the  only  boat  they  had,  and  got 
ashore,  leaving  the  two  Englishmen  with  the  passenger. 
Next  day  the  two  men  had  contrived  a  raft  of  the  spars, 


A  SEA  STORY 


395 


whereupon  the  Hindoo  at  last  brought  up  his  three  women, 
veiled  from  head  to  foot,  and  the  whole  got  safe  to  the  island. 
Here  all  the  Mahometans  herded  together  amongst  them- 
selves, forcing  the  two  Englishmen  to  keep  on  the  other  side 
of  the  island,  as  they  had  no  firearms,  while  the  old  Hindoo 
merchant  and  his  native  servant  got  a  tent  pitched  on  the 
highest  point  for  the  women,  where  they  were  no  more  seen 
than  before,  and  a  flag  hoisted  on  a  stick  all  the  time  for  a 
signal  to  ships — poor  simple  devil!'  as  Jones  said  with  a 
laugh.  'Every  day  he  offered  the  Arab  crew  more  of  the  gold 
and  jewels  he  had  with  him,  to  make  for  India  and  get  him 
brought  off,  till  at  last  some  of  the  Arabs  came  round  to  the 
mate  and  his  companion,  wanting  them  to  take  the  boat  and 
go  instead,  otherwise  they  would  kill  both  of  them  at  once. 
The  two  men  accordingly  had  provisions  given  them,  and 
hoisted  sail  on  the  boat  before  the  breeze  to  eastward;  they 
had  almost  dropped  the  island,  when  all  at  once  the  one  in  the 
boat's  bows  stepped  aft  to  him  that  had  the  tiller,  and  said  it 
struck  him  the  Arabs  could  n't  mean  well  to  the  Hindoo  and 
his  wives,  in  trying  to  get  clear  of  others. 

"  'All  his  companion  did,'  Jones  said,  'was  to  ask  if  he  was 
man  enough  to  go  back,  face  them  boldly,  and  offer  to  take 
the  passenger  and  his  harem  too,  when  some  craft  or  other 
might  come  back  for  the  Arabs,  since  they  weren't  seamen 
enough  to  venture  first  in  the  boat.  "1  tell  you  what,"  said 
the  first,  "try  the  two  largest  breakers  of  water  there !"  The 
water  for  use  next  after  the  open  one  was  tasted,  and  it  was 
salt.  "Will  you  stand  by  me?"  the  second  ^man  said,  after 
awhile.  The  other  had  a  dog  with  him  of  his  own,  that  had 
swam  ashore  from  the  vessel  after  the  raft  he  landed  upon, 
and  it  was  sleeping  in  the  boat's  bow  at  the  moment,  near 
him ;  the  dog  lifted  its  head  as  they  spoke,  eyed  the  two,  and 
lay  down  again  with  a  low  sort  of  growl.  "Ay,"  answered 
the  other,  "to  the  last  I  will— as  long  as  you  stick  by  me!" 
They  hauled  over  the  sheet,  laid  the  boat  sharp  on  a  wind, 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  dusk  began  to  pull  back  toward  the 
island,  where  they  got  ashore  in  the  dark  before  morning.' 

"Here  Jones  stopped,  turned  suddenly  round  to  the  glare 
of  the  white  water  plashing  upon  the  beach,  and  said  no  more. 
'Why,  Jones/  said  I,  'is  that  all  you've  to  tell?  What 
came  of  them  ?  For  God's  sake,  yes— what  was  the  upshot  < 
*  'T  is  enough  to  show  how  one  bad  thing  breeds  another,  as  1 
said,  sir,'  answered  he.  'Probably  in  the  end,  though— at  any 
rate  I  only  fancy  the  rest — 't  is  a  horrible  dream  to  me,  for  a 
_9_gquan  came  on  when  that  shipmate,  of  mj.ne  got  so  far, 


396  THE  GREEN   HAND 

and  we  had  to  reef  topsails.  He  went  overboard  off  the  yard 
that  very  night,'  said  Jones,  wildly. 

"  'The  man  must  have  been  there,'  said  I,  in  a  pointed  way, 
'to  give  all  the  particulars — he  was  the  mate  himself,  Mr. 
Jones !'  He  made  no  answer,  but  kept  gazing  out  to  sea. 
'And  how  long  was  this  ago  ?'  I  asked.  'Oh,'  answered  he, 
'years  enough  ago,  no  doubt,  sir,  for  both  of  us  to  be  children, 
if  you  were  born,  Mr.  Collins' — and  he  turned  his  face  to  me 
as  ghastly  as  the  water  toward  the  horizon  he  was  looking  at 
before — 'at  least  I  hope  to  God  it  was  so — the  man  was  a  poor 
creature,  sir,  bless  you,  and  old,  as  it  seems  to  me — twice  my 
own  age  at  the  time,  Lieutenant  Collins  1  At  all  events, 
though,'  he  went  on,  rambling  in  a  strange  way  that  made 
me  think  he  was  going  out  of  his  mind,  'he  remembered  well 
enough  the  first  time  he  saw  the  white  water  coming  down 
upon  the  island.  He  was  hunting — hunting — through  the 
bushes  and  up  and  down,  and  came  up  upon  the  crag.' 
'Hunting  ?'  I  said.  'Yes,  you  did  n't  know  how  it  lived,  or 
where  it  kept,  but  every  night  it  was  on  the  lookout  there. 
There  was  no  one  else,  save  the  girl  sleeping  over  beyond  in 
the  hut,  and  the  man  almost  fancied  the  water  of  the  sea  was 
coming  down  to  the  rocks  and  the  beach,  like  the  Almighty 
himself,  to  show  He  was  clear  of  all  that  had  happened — if  he 
could  but  have  finished  that  brute,  testifying  like  the  very 
devil,  he'd  have  been  happy,  he  felt!  Hark  ye,'  said  he, 
sinking  his  voice  to  a  whisper,  'when  he  went  back  at  day- 
light the  woman  was  dying — she  had  borne  a — what  was  as 
innocent  as  she  was,  poor,  sweet,young  heathen!' 

"And  if  I  had  n't  guessed  pretty  well  before  that  Jones 
was  the  man  he  'd  been  speaking  of,  his  glittering  eye  and  his 
stride  from  the  beach  would  have  showed  it;  apparently  he 
forgot  everything  besides  at  that  moment,  till  you  'd  have 
thought  his  mind  gloated  on  this  piece  of  his  history.  'The 
woman !'  I  could  n't  help  saying,  'what  woman  ?  Had  the 
rest  left  you  in  the  boat,  then?' 

"Jones  looked  upon  me  fiercely,  then  turned  away;  when 
all  on  a  sudden  such  a  long  unearthly  quaver  of  a  cry  came 
down  through  the  stillness,  from  somewhere  aloft  in  the 
island,  that  at  first  I  did  n't  know  what  to  think,  unless  one  of 
our  lookout  men  had  met  with  an  accident,  and  tumbled 
down.  'T  was  so  dark  where  they  were,  however,  there  was 
no  seeing  them.  Without  looking  for  himself,  Jones  faced 
me,  shivering  all  over.  'What  is  that,  Mr.  Collins?'  whis- 
pered he,  catching  my  arm  with  a  clutch  like  death;  'is  there 
anything  yonder — behind — behind — sir?  'On  the  flat-  head 


A  SEA  STORY  397 

• 

of  the  crag  north-westward,  black  against  the  pale  glimmer 
over  the  very  spot  where  we  had  stood  half  an  hour  before,  to 
my  utter  horror,  there  was  some  creature  or  other  sitting  as  if 
it  looked  toward  the  sea;  and  just  then  another  wild,  quiver- 
ing, eddying  sound  came  evidently  enough  from  it,  like  a 
thing  that  would  never  end.  It  was  n't  a  human  voice,  that ! 
my  brain  spun  with  it,  as  I  glanced  to  Jones.  'Good  heavens !' 
I  said,  'what?  But,  by  Jove!  now  I  think  of  it;  yes — 't  is  the 
howl  of  a  dog — nothing  else!'  'Eight — ten  years!'  said 
Jones,  hoarsely,  'without  food,  too,  and  enough  in  that  well  to 
have  poisoned  whole  gangs  of  men  for  twenty  years — can  it 
be  an  earthly  being,  sir'f  The  stare  he  gave  me  at  the 
moment  was  more  frightful  than  aught  else,  but  I  mentioned 
what  Westwood  and  I  had  observed  the  day  before. 

"Before  I  well  knew  what  he  meant,  Jones  was  stealing 
swiftly  up  the  rising  ground  to  the  shoulder  of  it.  I  saw  him 
get  suddenly  on  a  level  with  the  creature,  his  musket  aiming 
for  it — there  was  a  flash  and  a  shot  that  left  the  height  as  bare 
as  before — and  next  minute,  with  a  short  whimpering  howl, 
the  animal  flew  down  the  hill,  while  I  heard  Jones  crashing 
through  the  bushes  after  it,  till  he  was  lost  in  the  dark. 
Such  a  terrible  notion  it  gave  me  of  his  strange  story  being 
true,  whereas  before  I  had  almost  fancied  it  partly  a  craze  of 
his,  from  having  lived  here  alone — that  for  a  moment  or  two 
it  seemed  to  my  mind  we  were  still  in  the  midst  of  it.  I 
hurried  back  to  our  post,  and  close  upon  morning  Jones  came 
over  and  lay  down  by  himself,  without  a  word,  haggard  and 
covered  with  sweat. 

"All  next  day  the  horizon  on  every  side  was  clear  of  a 
single  speck;  no  signs  either  of  ship  or  schooner,  till  I  began 
to  wish  we  were  out  of  it,  hoping  the  'Seringapatam'  had, 
after  all,  kept  the  old  course  for  Bombay,  in  spite  of  us. 
found  Jones  had  warned  the  men  not  to  get  our  water  out  of 
the  tank ;  it  being  poisoned  in  a  way  fit  to  last  for  years,  as 
the  pirates  knew  how  to  do.  For  our  parts,  we  had  to  amuse 
ourselves  the  best  way  we  could,  waiting  for  the  schooner  to 
come  down  again  for  us,  which  was  the  only  thing  1  looked 
for  now.  That  night  the  white  appearance  of  the  water  to 
north  and  windward  seemed  a  good  deal  gone,  save  where  i 
hung  like  a  haze  in  the  direction  it  took  off  the  island :  the 
stars  shone  out,  and  in  two  or  three  nights  more  I  found  from 
Jones  there  would  be  nothing  of  it,  which  I  hoped  I  should 
have  to  take  on  his  word. 

"At  daybreak,  however,  our  lookout  could  all  of  a  sudden 
be  seen  hoisting  the  signal  for  a  sail,  in  sight,  and  waving  his 


398  THE  GREEN  HAND 

hat  for  us  to  come.  No  sooner  had  we  hurried  up,  accordingly, 
than  a  sail  could  be  made  out  in  the  south-east,  hull  down; 
and  the  schooner  not  being  likely  thereaway,  a  certain  flutter 
in  me  at  once  set  it  down  for  the  Indiaman  at  last,  on  her  way 
far  past  the  island  for  the  open  channel.  Being  broad  day- 
light, too,  with  a  fresh  breeze  blowing,  we  saw  that  Foster  and 
his  party,  if  they  carried  out  their  scheme,  would  have  to  wait 
till  she  was  a  long  way  to  windward  at  night-time,  in  order 
to  get  clear  off.  In  fact,  I  had  every  one  kept  down  off  the 
height,  lest  the  ship's  glasses  might  possibly  notice  some- 
thing; while,  at  the  same  time,  we  had  n't  even  a  fire  kindled 
to  cook  our  victuals.  I  was  watching  her  over  the  brow  of 
the  hill,  through  the  telescope,  when  she  evidently  stood 
round  on  the  other  tack  to  get  up  to  windward,  which  brought 
her  gradually  nearer.  She  was  a  large  ship,  under  full 
canvas;  and  at  last  she  rose  ner  hull  to  the  white  streak 
below  the  bulwarks,  till  I  began  to  think  they  intended 
passing  the  island  to  eastward  to  make  the  channel.  1  went 
down  for  Jones,  and  asked  him  how  far  the  reefs  actually  ran 
out,  when  he  told  me  there  would  probably  be  signs  enough 
of  them  in  such  a  strong  breeze;  besides,  as  he  reminded  me, 
if  she  was  the  Indiaman,  it  was  the  captain  himself  that  had 
a  chart  of  thf— ;  in  which,  from  the  particular  nature  of  it — 
being  an  old  buccaneering  chart,  as  he  thought — they  would 
be  laid  down  quite  plainly. 

"Indeed,  when  we  both  returned  to  the  height,  there  were 
lines  of  surf  to  be  noticed  here  and  there,  more  than  three 
miles  out;  and  seeing  her  by  that  time  so  distinctly,  a  new 
uneasiness  began  to  enter  my  head.  There  were  no  signals 
we  could  make,  even  if  they  did  n't  serve  the  other  way ;  and, 
to  tell  the  truth,  I  did  n't  much  like  the  idea  of  being  found 
there.  Still,  it  was  terrible  to  sej-  her  getting  nearer  and 
nearer,  without  the  power  of  doing  the  least  thing  to  warn  her 
off;  spreading  and  heightening  before  you,  till  you  counted 
her  sails,  and  saw  the  light  betwixt  them,  with  the  breeze 
always  strengthening  off  that  side  the  island,  and  of  course 
making  it  the  safer  for  her  to  pass  it  to  leeward.  The  blue 
surges  rose  longer  to  the  foam  at  their  crests,  till  one's  eye 
got  confused  between  them  and  the  spots  of  surf  rippling 
greenish  over  the  tongues  of  reef ;  in  fact,  it  was  n't  far  off  be- 
ing low-water  at  the  time,  and  the  whole  was  to  be  seen  better 
from  the  height  than  elsewhere,  stretched  out  like  a  floor  that 
the  breeze  was  sweeping  across,  raising  a  white  dust  where  the 
blue  melted  into  the  light-brown  tint  of  the  sea  to  leeward. 
The  breeze  came  so  fresh  .that  she  even  hauled  down  her  sky- 


A  SEA  STORY  399 

sails  and  fore-royal,  falling  off  to  go  to  leeward  of  the  island. 
At  the  same  moment,  I  made  out  with  the  glass  that  she  was 
actually  the  'Seringapatam,'  and  also  that  she  'd  got  a  leads- 
man at  work  in  the  chains.  Five  minutes  more,  and  she'd 
have  gone  time  enough  into  the  distinct  brown-colored  swells 
to  stand  past  the  deep  end :  without  help  from  the  glass,  I  saw 
the  sun  sparkle  in  the  spray  from  her  black  bows ;  she  made  a 
sliding  forge  ahead  with  her  whole  beam  on  to  us ;  when,  next 
moment,  as  if  she  had  taken  a  sudden  yaw  and  broached' to  in 
the  wind,  she  came  fairly  end  on,  showing  the  three  piles  of 
canvas  in  one.  A  wild  boding  of  the  truth  crept  on  me  as  I 
sprang  on  the  peak,  waving  my  arms  and  stamping  like  a 
lunatic,  as  if  they  could  hear  me. 

"The  next  instant  she  had  fallen  a  little  over,  her  fore- 
topmast  and  main-to'gallant-mast  gone  out  of  their  places  at 
the  shock,  and  the  heavy  blue  swells  running  to  her  highest 
side  in  a  perfect  heap  of  foam ;  while  the  spray  rose  in  white 
jets  across  her  weather  bulwarks  at  every  burst  of  them. 
The  Indiaman  had  struck  on  a  rib  of  reef,  or  else  a  spit  of 
sand,  near  the  very  edge  of  the  whole  bank :  had  it  been  only 
high-water — as  I  had  reason  to  believe  afterwards — she'd 
have  gone  clear  over  it.  As  soon  as  the  first  horror  of  the 
thing  was  a  little  past,  I  looked,  without  a  word,  to  Jones,  and 
he  to  me.  'The  fellows  have  come  at  last,  certainly !'  said  he, 
in  a  serious  enough  tone.  'Mr.  Collins,'  he  added,  'the  mo- 
ment I  set  foot  on  ground  here,  I  felt  sure  something  would 
come  out  of  it !'  'Get  the  men  down  at  once,  sir,'  I  said,  'and 
let 's  pull  out  to  the  ship !'  'Why,  sir,'  answered  he,  'the 
breeze  is  likely  to  keep  for  some  time  as  it  is,  and  if  she  's 
completely  gone,  they  '11  be  able  to  bring  all  hands  safe 
ashore.  If  you  take  my  advice,  Mr.  Collins,  you  'll  hold  all 
fast,  and  show  no  signs  of  our  being  here  at  all,  in  case  of 
having  something  or  other  to  manage  yet  that  may  cost  us 
harder !'  'It  did  n't  need  much  thought  to  see  this,  in  fact ;  and 
in  place  of  going  down,  ten  minutes  after  we  were  all  close 
amongst  the  bushes  on  the  slope,  watching  the  wreck.  What 
was  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  I  did  n't  know ;  whether  Captain 
Finch  had  really  got  wind  of  Foster's  scheme,  and  been  play- 
ing with  some  hellish  notion  his  heart  failed  him  to  carry  out, 
or  how  it  was ;  but  what  he  was  to  make  of  this  was  the  ques- 
tion. 

"Well,  toward  afternoon,  the  wreck  seemed  pretty  much 
in  the  same  state,  though  by  that  time  they  had  evidently 
given  her  up,  for  the  boats  were  beginning  to  be  hoisted  out 
to  leeward.  We  could  n't  see  what  went  on  there,  till  one  of 


400  THE  GREEN  HAND 

them  suddenly  appeared,  pulling  out  for  the  island,  about 
three  miles  off;  then  the  large  launch  after  it.  There  were 
ladies'  dresses  to  be  made  out  in  both,  their  cloaks  and  shawls 
fluttering  bright  to  the  breeze  as  the  boats  dipped  in  the 
short  swells;  and  they  were  full  an  hour  ere  they  got  out  of 
our  sight,  near  the  broad  beach,  on  the  level  side,  where  the 
tide  was  ebbing  fast  again,  making  it  a  hard  matter  to  pull 
the  distance.  Two  more  boats  came  off  the  ship,  filled  full  of 
casks  and  other  matters,  save  the  crews;  the  rest  of  the 
passengers  and  men  no  doubt  waiting  for  the  launch  and 
jolly-boat  to  go  back  and  take  them  ashore — for,  soon  after, 
they  both  could  be  seen  rounding  the  point  on  their  way  out. 
On  coming  within  hail  of  the  fresh  boats,  however,  they 
apparently  gave  in,  since  we  could  see  the  two  of  them,  to  our 
great  surprise,  strike  round,  and  make  for  the  beach  again 
with  their  shipmates,  spite  of  signals  from  the  wreck,  and 
shots  even  fired  after  them.  The  breeze  by  that  time  flagged, 
leaving  less  of  a  sea  against  the  ship's  hull  in  the  dead  water 
from  the  other  reefs,  and  she  had  fallen  over  again  to  leeward 
— a  proof  of  her  sticking  fast  where  she  struck,  without  much 
fear  of  parting  very  soon  in  such  weather;  but  the  sun  was 
going  down,  and  this  being  the  first  sign  of  foul  play  we  had 
observed,  it  was  plain  at  all  events  we  should  have  to  look 
sharp  about  us.  We  kept  close  up  the  height,  bolted  our  cold 
junk  and  biscuit,  washing  down  with  a  stiff  caulker,  and 
looked  every  man  to  his  tools. 

"To  my  great  satisfaction,  the  planter,  who  had  watched 
everything  seemingly  in  pure  bewilderment,  woke  up  out  of 
it  when  he  knew  how  matters  stood,  and  handled  his  double- 
barrel  as  cool  as  a  cucumber,  putting  in  two  bullets  above  the 
small  shot  he  had  got  for  the  birds,  and  ramming  down  with 
the  air  of  a  man  summing  up  a  couple  of  bills  against  a 
rascally  debtor.  For  my  own  part,  I  must  say  I  was  longer  of 
coming  to  feel  it  was  n't  some  sort  of  dream,  owing  to  Jones's 
broken  story;  till  the  thought  of  who  was  to  all  likelihood  on 
the  very  island  below,  with  the  rest  of  the  ladies,  amongst  a 
set  of  all  sorts  of  foremast-men  thrown  loose  from  command 
— half  of  them  probably  ruffians,  with  some  hand  in  the 
matter — it  came  on  me  like  fire  at  one's  vitals.  Meantime  we 
sat  there  patiently  enough  for  want  of  knowing  what  was  to 
do  first,  or  which  way  we  had  best  keep  to  avoid  bringing 
matters  to  a  head,  worse  than  they  yet  were. 


A  SEA  STORY  401 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

"THE  night  came  out  of  the  dusk  a  fine  starlight  to  seaward, 
beyond  the  reefs  where  the  Indiaman  lay,  the  high  side  of  the 
island  glooming  back  against  the  deep  blue  glistening  sky, 
till  you  didn't  see  how  large  it  might  be;  while  the  white 
water  hung  glimmering  off  to  leeward  from  the  rocks.  The 
ship's  crow  had  kindled  a  fire  on  the  long  strand  near  the  boats, 
and  we  heard  their  noise  getting  louder  and  louder  above 
the  sound  of  the.  sea  plashing  upon  it — evidently  through 
their  making  free  with  liquor.  Jones,  being  no  doubt  well 
acquainted  with  every  part  of  the  ground,  proposed  to  go  over 
and  see  how  things  stood,  and  where  the  passengers  might 
be ;  at  the  same  time,  as  Mr.  Rollock  was  more  likely  to  come 
conveniently  to  speech  of  them,  both  for  explaining  our  being 
here  and  putting  them  on  their  guard,  he  agreed  to  go  too. 

"One  or  other  of  them  was  to  hurry  back  as  quickly  as 
possible,  while  the  men  and  myself  waited  in  readiness  for 
whatever  might  turn  up.  Hour  after  hour  passed,  however, 
till  I  was  quite  out  of  patience,  not  to  say  uneasy  beyond 
description.  All  was  still,  save  below  toward  the  water's  edge 
— the  seamen's  voices  at  times  mixing  with  the  washing  hum 
of  the  surge  on  the  sand,  then  rising  over  it  in  the  chorus 
of  a  forecastle  song,  or  a  sudden  bit  of  a  quarrelsome  uproar ; 
notwithstanding  which  they  began  apparently  to  settle  down 
to  sleep. 

"At  last  the  planter  came  skirting  round  the  hill  through 
the  trees,  quite  out  of  breath,  to  say  they  had  discovered  the 
spot  where  the  ladies  had  no  doubt  been  taken  by  their  friends, 
as  Captain  Finch  himself,  with  one  of  the  ship's  officers,  and 
two  or  three  cadets,  were  walking  about  on  the  watch,  all  of 
them  armed.  To  judge  by  this,  and  the  fact  of  the  other 
gentlemen  being  still  apparently  on  the  wreck,  Finch  mis- 
trusted his  men.  However,  the  planter  thought  it  better  not 
to  risk  a  hasty  shot  through  him  by  going  nearer;  and,  to  tell 
the  truth,  I  thought  it  better  myself  to  wait  till  daylight, 
when  we  should  see  if  the  rest  got  ashore;  or  possibly,  as  I 
wished  to  Heaven  were  the  case,  the  schooner  might  heave  in 
sight.  'Where  is  Mr.  Jones,  though?'  asked  I;  on  which  L 
found  he  had  gone  over  for  the  first  time  towards  the  well  for 
some  water,  as  he  told  Mr.  Rollock.  Indeed,  the  passengers 
were  settled  near  the  thick  of  the  wood  on  this  side  ot  tne 


402  THE  GREEN   HAND 

watering-place,  none  of  the  Indiana  an's  people  seeming  to 
know  as  yet  there  was  such  a  thing  on  the  island. 

"We  each  of  us  held  our  breath,  and  listened  to  hear  Jones 
come  back.  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  leading  my  party 
that  way,  when  I  caught  the  sound  of  some  one  panting,  as 
it  were,  up  the  ridge  from  the  shore,  and  next  moment  saw, 
to  my  great  surprise,  it  was  the  creature  Jones  had  such 
a  horror  of — the  dog  that  had  run  wild  on  the  island, 
sniffing  with  his  nose  to  the  ground  as  if  he  were  in  chase  of 
something;  while  the  straw  hats  and  tarpaulins  of  half  a 
dozen  fellows  with  ship's  muskets  and  cutlasses  followed  him 
over  the  hill,  not  thirty  paces  above  us. 

"I  signed  to  Jacobs  to  keep  quiet,  as  they  halted  together, 
looking  at  the  dog;  and,  from  what  I  could  catch  of  their 
words,  they  had  noticed  it  ever  since  sundown,  sitting  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  watching  what  went  on,  till  the  ani- 
mal ran  toward  them  as  if  they  were  friends,  every  now 
and  then  turning  and  making  for  the  heights  with  a  bark 
and  a  whimper,  as  it  did  at  present.  One  of  the  men 
was  Foster.  'I  tell  ye  what  it  is,'  said  he ;  'there 's  some 
fellow  on  the  island  already,  mates.  If  we  ketch  him,  why, 
we  '11  have  it  out  of  him — then  down  with  it  quietly  to 
the  shore,  and  go  off  in  the  long-boat,  seeing  as  how  this 
blasted  fool  of  a  skipper  of  ours  has  spoiled  our  pleasure !' 
The  dog  turned  again,  wagged  his  tail,  and  put  his  nose  to 
the  ground.  I  thought  at  first  he  'd  bring  them  right  upon 
us,  when  suddenly  he  broke  off  with  a  yelp  exactly  into 
the  track  Jones  had  taken  with  Mr.  Rollock  on  leaving  us. 
The  sailors  kept  away  in  his  wake,  down  through  the 
bushes  into  the  thick  dusk  of  the  trees;  upon  which  tho 
planter  and  I  started  to  our  feet  at  once,  and  held  cau- 
tiously after  them,  the  five  man-o'-war's-men  following  at 
cur  heels,  Indian  file. 

"Jones,  however,  had  either  heard  the  dog,  or  got  an  ink- 
ling of  the  thing,  and  he  had  taken  a  long  round  so  as  to 
join  us  from  behind:  the  Indiaman's  men  keeping  on  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  or  so,  when  they  brought  up  again,  seem- 
ingly doubtful  whether  to  follow  the  creature  or  not;  and 
we  dropped  like  one  man  into  the  shadow,  till  they  made 
sail  once  more.  Soon  after  the  planter  pointed  to  the 
trees  where  the  passengers  were,  and,  on  a  sign  from  me, 
the  whole  of  us  edged  down  to  the  spot,  till  we  were  stand- 
ing within  sight  of  the  half-finished  fire,  where  the  Judge's 
Icitmagar  was  sitting  asleep,  tailor-fashion,  with  his  flat 
turban  sunk  to  his  breast.  One  of  the  cadets  stood  down  the- 


A  SEA  STORY  403 

slope  a  little,  betwixt  that  and  the  beach  where  the  crew  were, 
leaning  sleepily  on  his  gun,  and  nodding,  while  in  the' 
midst  was  a  sort  of  shed,  run  up  with  branches  and  cocoanut 
leaves,  where  you  could  see  a  glimpse  of  the  dresses  of  the 
different  ladies,  young  and  old,  asleep  on  the  ground. 

"The  starlight  fell  right  down  into  the  opening,  and 
showed  the  glistening  edges  of  the  leaves,  with  the  sea 
broad  out  beyond  the  cocoas  at  the  foot  of  the  rising  ground ; 
so  bidding  Jones  look  out  sharp,  I  stepped  carefully  through. 
My  eye  lighted  at  once  on  Sir  Charles  Hyde  lying  in  one 
nook  of  the  shelter,  wrapped  up  in  his  pilot-coat — the  first 
time  in  the  old  gentleman's  life  for  a  good  while,  I  dare  say, 
that  he  had  passed  his  night  on  the  ground,  especially  with 
such  a  lot  of  berths  taken  up  beside  him.  Still  he  was 
sound  enough  at  the  time,  to  judge  by  his  breathing,  trifle 
as  it  was  to  the  planter's;  and  close  by  him  was  his  daugh- 
ter, with  her  cloak  drawn  half  over  her  head  in  the  shadow 
— her  hair  confused  about  her  cheek  as  it  pressed  white 
into  the  bundle  of  red  bunting  she  had  for  a  pillow,  and 
one  hand  keeping  the  cloak  fast  at  the  neck,  as  if  she 
dreamed  of  a  stiff  breeze.  The  sight  went  to  my  heart,  and 
so  did  the  notion  of  waking  her;  but  I  heard  sounds  be- 
low on  the  beach,  as  if  the  rest  of  the  crew  missed  their 
shipmates,  probably  getting  jealous  after  their  booze,  and  not 
unlikely  to  seek  them  up  the  island,  so  the  more  it  struck 
me  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost  in  coming  to  an  under- 
standing. Accordingly,  1  stooped  down  quietly  and  touched 
her  on  the  shoulder. 

"Violet  Hyde  opened  her  eyes  at  once,  and  looked  at  me; 
but  whether  it  was  the  starlight  showing  my  uniform,  or 
her  fancying  it  was  still  the  Indiaman  in  the  Atlantic,  in 
place  of  crying  out,  why,  there  was  almost  a  smile  on  her 
lips  as  she  saw  me  from  the  ground.  Next  moment,  how- 
ever, she  drew  her  hand  across  her  eyelids,  sat  up  with  the 
help  of  the  other  arm,  and  gazed  on  me  in  a  bewildered 
way,  naming  me  at  the  same  time  below  her  breath.  'Yes, 
Miss  Hyde !'  I  said,  hastily ;  and  a  few  words  served  to  give 
her  a  notion  of  the  case  as  well  as  to  advise  her  to  wake 
up  the  Judge,  with  the  rest  of  the  ladies,  and  be  ready  to 
move  the  moment  we  came  back.  My  fii-st  thought  was  to 
take  Foster's  own  plan,  and  secure  the  long-boat,  if  we 
could  only  get  betwixt  the  Indiaman's  crew  and  the  water; 
or  even  try  our  own,  or  the  opposite  side  of  the  island, 
and  carry  off  the  other  boats  to  the  wreck;  after  which  we 


404  THE  GREEN   HAND 

might  keep  off  till  the  schooner  appeared,  as  she  could  n't 
be  long  o±  doing  in  this  weather. 

"I  had  just  stolen  back  to  the  men  and  Mr.  Rollock,  when 
all  at  once  there  was  a  wild  cry,  not  twenty  yards  off,  among 
the  brushwood.  A  heavy  b.c\v  and  a  struggle,  in  the  midst 
of  which  three  shots,  one  after  the  other,  were  heard  from 
the  cadets;  next  minute,  with  oaths  and  curses  to  the 
masthead,  and  a  crash  through  amongst  the  branches  in  the 
dark,  Foster  and  his  shipmates  came  making  for  the  open- 
ing. Something  horrible  flashed  through  my  mind  as  I 
fancied  I  had  caught  Finch's  voice,  whether  one  way  or  the 
other  I  could  n't  say,  for  I  had  no  thought  at  the  time  ex- 
cepting for  Violet.  Shriek  upon  shriek  broke  from  the 
ladies,  ere  I  well  knew  I  had  big  Harry  himself  by  the 
hairy  throat  of  him,  as  he  was  aiming  a  left -handed  stroke  of 
his  cutlass  at  the  Judge,  who  had  sprung  betwixt  him  and 
his  daughter.  The  strength  of  that  ruffian  was  wonderful, 
for  he  flung  me  off  and  levelled  Sir  Charles  Hyde  at  the 
same  moment,  the  Judge's  body  tripping  me. 

"Jones  and  my  own  men,  as  well  as  the  planter,  were 
hard  at  work  with  the  other  five  desperate  villains,  while  the 
cadets  and  the  second  officer  of  the  'Seringapatam'  rushed 
in  from  the  trees — all  of  it  passing  in  half  a  minute.  As  I 
started  to  my  feet,  Foster  had  lifted  Violet  Hyde  in  his 
arms,  and  was  dashing  through  the  darkest  of  the  wood 
with  her  toward  the  hollow,  when,  just  as  I  was  hard  upon 
him,  doubly  to  my  horror,  above  all  the  screams  of  the 
ladies  I  could  hear  the  wild  drunken  shouts  of  the  crew 
below  coming  up  from  the  beach  like  so  many  devils.  Fos- 
ter had  got  as  far  as  the  next  opening  where  the  rubbish 
of  the  hut  was,  and,  no  doubt  catching  the  sound  as  well 
as  myself,  all  at  once  he  dropped  the  young  lady  on  the 
grass — in  a  faint  as  she  was,  and  her  white  dress  stained  with 
blood,  as  I  thought  from  herself.  'Now,  ye —  -'  shouted  he, 
turning  bolt  round  till  her  moveless  figure  lay  betwixt  us, 
with  a  flourish  of  his  cutlass,  which  I  fancied  was  bloody, 
too,  'who  are  you?  You'll  have  a  dozen  on  ye  directly, 
but  what 's  meat  for  the  skipper  's  meat  for  the  passenger, 

so '    'Devil !'  said  I,  through  my  teeth,  as  I  edged  round ; 

and  Foster  was  in  the  very  act  of  rushing  at  me,  whether 
he  trod  on  her  or  not,  when  my  voice  or  dress  seemed  to 
strike  him  in  the  dusk.  'How  the  bloody  comfort  did 

you '  said  he,  shrinking  back  for  a  moment;  'so  much 

the  better,'  and  he  sprang  forward  again  right  upon  me,  with 
a  swinging  boarder's  blow  at  my  head,  which  flashed  off 


A  SEA  STORY  405 

my  blade  with  force  enough  to  have  shivered  it,  had  it  not 


he  made,  I  caught  him  fair  under  it,  the  point  going  through 
arid  through  his  body  as  I  thrust  him  back  stride  by  stride 
— his  cutlass  waving  fiercely  all  the  time  in  the  air,  clear 
of  my  head,  for  the  stroke  came  under  his  arm.  The  mo- 
ment he  fell,  though  I  knew  nothing  before  that  of  where 
we  were,  there  was  a  heavy  plunge;  I  had  nearly  followed 
on  top  of  him,  as  he  went  head-foremost  down  the  tank- 
well  under  the  trees;  but  next  moment,  without  a  thought 
more  to  him  in  the  heat  of  the  struggle,  I  was  lifting 
Violet  off  the  grass.  What  I  did  or  what  I  said,  to  see  if 
she  would  revive,  I  don't  really  know;  but  I  remember  as 
well  as  if  it  were  last  night  the  very  sound  of  her  voice 
as  she  told  me  she  was  n't  hurt.  The  affair  in  the  wood 
below  us  had  suddenly  ceased  during  these  five  or  ten 
minutes — indeed,  as  I  found  afterwards,  Jones  and  my  party 
had  settled  every  one  of  the  five,  either  altogether  or  for 
the  time;  but  the  uproar  of  more  than  twenty  fierce  voices 
could  be  heard  beyond  them,  cursing  and  yelling  as  they 
came  stumbling  and  crashing  up  amongst  the  brushwood 
in  a  body;  while  the  ladies  and  their  companions  struggled 
up  from  all  sides  toward  the  height,  wild  with  terror,  i 
met  Sir  Charles  Hyde  hurrying  to  seek  his  daughter,  how- 
ever; and  the  moment  he  had  her  in  his  arms,  I  rushed 
down,  pistol  in  hand,  to  join  my  men,  who  were  standing 
firm  below,  as  the  mutineers  burst  into  the  opening,  no 
doubt  with  the  notion  they  had  only  the  cadets  to  do  with. 

"  'Here,  my  lads !'  I  sang  out ;  'make  every  man  of  them 
prisoner — down  with  'em  to  the  schooner!'  And  as  I  broke 
suddenly  through  in  the  starlight  in  the  midst  of  them, 
Jones,  Jacobs,  the  planter,  and  the  other  four  man-o'-war's- 
men  sprang  after  me,  one  by  one— taking  the  cue,  and 
shouting  as  if  to  ever  so  many  behind  us,  'Here  they  are, 
shipmates — this  way — settle  the  blackguards!'  In  fact,  the 
ir.oment  I  appeared,  the  gang  of  half-drunken  fellows  were 
taken  aback.  One  of  them  roared  as  if  he  saw  the  very 
devil;  and  giving  them  no  time  to  think,  we  drove  them 
scattering  down  toward  the  beach.  One  of  Foster's  parly. 
however,  being  only  stunned,  had  contrived  to  get  down 
amongst  them;  and  in  a  little  while,  seeing  we  /lid n  t 
follow,  the  whole  lot  of  them  appeared  to  get  an  inkling 
of  the  truth,  on  which  they  rallied.  It  was  n't  long  ere  I 


406  THE  GREEN  HAND 

saw  they  had  got  desperate,  and  were  planning  to  divide, 
and  come  somewhere  over  upon  us  round  the  heights;  so 
that,  in  the  dark,  with  our  small  party,  not  knowing  their 
numbers,  the  best  we  could  do  was  to  gather  up  toward 
the  peak,  and  secure  the  ladies.  Accordingly,  we  passed 
an  uncomfortable  enough  time  during  the  rest  of  the  night, 
till  daybreak,  when  still  no  signs  of  the  schooner,  as  we 
saw  in  the  clear  to  north-eastward.  Frightful  notions  came 
into  my  head  of  something  having  happened  to  her;  the 
mutineers  below  were  on  both  sides  of  the  island,  and  thev 
held  the  watering-place.  We  had  n't  provisions  for  a  single 
breakfast  to  half  the  party  of  us — and  the  fellows  being 
now  fairly  in  for  it,  they  could  starve  us  out  if  they  chose. 
You  may  conceive,  accordingly,  what  a  joyful  sight  met 
my  eyes,  when,  on  the  dusk  lifting  off  to  northward,  we 
could  see  the  lovely  craft  under  all  sail  not  six  miles  off, 
bearing  down  before  a  fresh  breeze  for  the  deep  end  of  the 
island ! 

"The  wind  had  headed  her  off  on  her  way  back;  and, 
knowing  nothing  of  the  wreck,  Westwood  might  have  landed 
at  the  mercy  of  the  villains  in  the  bush.  But  the  minute 
we  saw  his  boat  out,  the  whole  of  us,  save  the  Judge  and 
the  planter,  made  a  clean  charge  down  upon  them — the 
schooner's  men  joining  us  with  the  oars  and  boat-stretchers : 
and  in  half  an  hour  the  whole  gang,  having  lost  heart, 
were  taken  and  lashed  fast  by  the  wrists  on  the  beach,  to  a 
single  man. 

"On  searching  the  watering-place  during  the  day,  we 
found  some  one  had  covered  the  mouth  of  the  tank  with 
sticks  and  leaves,  through  which  Harry  Foster  had  gone 
when  he  fell.  The  stuff  had  fallen  in  over  him;  and  the 
well  being  evidently  made  deep  into  the  rock,  to  hold 
water  the  longer,  with  the  roots  of  the  trees  growing  out  into 
it,  his  body  never  came  up.  Somehow  or  other  no  one 
liked  to  sound  it  to  the  bottom;  but  the  thing  that  horrified 
all  of  us  the  most  was  to  find  Captain  Finch  himself  lying 
quite  dead  amongst  the  brushwood  near  where  the  passen- 
gers had  pitched  their  quarters,  with  a  cut  through  his  skull 
enough  to  have  killed  an  ox.  It  was  supposed  Foster  had 
suddenly  come  upon  him  as  he  and  his  shipmates  looked 
out  for  the  hoard  they  thought  the  pirates  had  in  the  island, 
while  Finch  was  on  guard  over  the  ladies.  Whether  the 
fellow  took  a  new  notion  at  the  moment,  or  what  it  was, 
the  whole  gang  of  them  made  their  rush  upon  the  second 


A  SEA  STORY  407 

mate  and  the  cadets,  the  minute  after  the  captain  met  his 
death. 

"As  for  Jones,  he  told  me  he  had  noticed  the  dog  watch- 
ing the  seamen  below,  and  the  idea  got  into  his  head  of 
what  might  happen.  There  was  that  about  the  animal  to 
give  one  a  dread  you  couldn't  describe.  How  it  had 
lived  all  this  time,  and  how  the  customs  came  back  on  it, 
after  growing  perfectly  wild,  of  carrying  on  like  what  it  did 
that  night,  was  a  mystery ;  but  Jones  said  he  had  n't  heard 
it  bark  before,  neither  had  the  man  he  knew  of,  since  the 
time  he  was  first  left  alone  on  White-water  Island.  In  fact, 
the  whole  of  us  might  have  hunted  it  down  before  we  left. 
But  'No !'  Jones  said ;  'there  's  a  perfect  fiend  in  the  brute, 
]  do  believe — yet  it  strikes  me  by  this  time,  the  creature 
belongs  to — to  the  Almighty,  sir!'  The  men  and  passen- 
gers had  been  taken  off  the  Indiaman's  wreck,  which  there 
was  no  chance  of  getting  off  the  reef;  so,  taking  out  the 
best  of  her  stores  and  the  passengers'  property,  we  had 
every  soul  aboard  the  schooner,  and  at  last  set  sail  to 
the  south-east,  meaning  to  go  in  at  Madras,  where  a  sloop 
might  be  sent  to  recover  more  from  the  ship.  'T  was  with 
no  ordinary  state  of  things,  from  stem  to  stern,  that  we 
dropped  White-water  Island  astern. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

"WELL,  ma'am,  the  rest  you  may  easily  fancy.  We  made 
Madras  Koads,  and  there  I  expected  to  lose  sight  of  the 
Judge  and  his  daughter  again,  as  we  did  most  of  the  other 
passengers;  but  to  my  perfect  delight  Sir  Charles  pre- 
ferred carrying  out  the  voyage  on  to  Calcutta  in  the 
schooner,  where  they  had  the  after-cabins  to  themselves. 
The  Indiaman's  crew  I  kept,  prisoners  and  all,  till  we 
should  meet  the  frigate  off  the  Sunderbunds. 

"Just  conceive  standing  up  the  hot  Bay  of  Bengal  with 
flagging  south-westerly  breezes,  shifting  at  times  to  a  brisk 
south-easter,  or  a  squall,  as  we  've  done  ourselves  this  week. 
The  moon  wasn't  at  the  full  then,  of  course,  so  we  only 
had  it  like  a  reaper's  sickle  in  the  dog-watches;  but  it  was 
fine  weather,  and  you  may  imagine  one  sometimes  contrived, 
betwixt  Westwood  and  myself,  to  have  Violet  on  the  quar- 
ter-deck of  an  evening  without  the  Judge.  Tom  would 


408  THE  GREEN  HAND 

step  forward  suddenly  to  see  a  small  pull  taken  on  a  sheet, 
and  Snelling  knew  pretty  well  not  to  walk  aft  of  the 
capstan;  so  I  could  lean  over  the  taffrail  near  her,  and  look 
at  the  schooner's  wake  glimmering  and  sparkling  up  in 
the  bubbles  astern. 

"Then,  to  save  trouble,  you  need  but  picture  to  yourselves 
some  such  sort  of  a  daybreak  as  we  had  this  morning;  a  cool 
blue  cloudless  sky  all  aloft,  dappled  to  eastward  with  a 
mighty  arch,  as  it  were,  of  small  white  spots  and  flakes, 
as  a  perfect  sea  of  light  flows  up  into  it  before  the  sun 
under  the  horizon,  and  a  pale  slanting  shaft  of  it  seems 
to  hang  gray  in  the  yellow  above  him.* 

"The  sea  heaves  deep-blue  and  deeper  blue  under  the 
schooner;  the  wide  flock  of  small  clouds  burn  from  gold  to 
fire;  the  slanting  streak  of  light  fades  and  vanishes,  and 
the  sun  comes  up  like  a  gush  of  flame — sending  a  stream 
of  glittering  radiance  along  the  water  to  our  starboard 
bow,  while  it  shows  a  long  flat  line  of  land  far  on  the  other 
beam.  The  planter  is  smoking  his  first  cheroot  for  that 
day  at  the  stern  gratings,  when  we  make  out  three  or 
four  faint  points  over  the  streak  of  land  shining  like  gold 
in  the  dawn;  while  at  the  same  time  three  hazy  pillars, 
as  it  were,  are  seen  standing  up  betwixt  sea  and  sky,  beyond 
the  rippling  blue  in  the  north-eastern  board.  'T  is  the 
spires  of  Juggernaut  pagoda  on  one  side;  and  as  the  brisk 
morning  breeze  drives  the  water  into  short  surges,  till  the 
schooner  rises  the  ship  upon  the  other,  all  of  a  sudden  she 
looms  square  and  white  upon  our  starboard  bow.  As  the 
hull  lifted  higher  and  higher  under  her  canvas,  there  was 
less  doubt  every  few  minutes  of  her  being  a  frigate;  and 
by  the  time  Violet  and  her  father  were  standing  together 
on  the  quarter-deck,  the  glorious  old  'Hebe'  was  signalling 
us  from  her  fore-royal-masthead,  as  she  kept  close  on  a 
wind  to  cross  our  course. 

"We  spoke  the  pilot-brig  that  evening,  took  out  the  pilot, 
and  stood  up  into  the  mouth  of  the  Hoogly  with  the  night- 
tide  in  the  moonlight — dropping  the  'Hebe'  at  Diamond  Har- 
bor next  day;  while  Lord  Frederick,  and  a  Government 
gentleman  he  had  with  him  from  St.  Helena,  went  up  to 
Calcutta  with  us  in  the  schooner.  The  whole  of  the  In- 
diaman's  late  crew  and  officers  were  left  in  the  frigate  till 
further  notice,  notwithstanding  which  we  were  pretty  well 
crowded  on  our  way  up;  Westwood  and  I  were  glad  of  a 


The  zodiacal  light,  seen  at  sunrise  and  sunset. 


A  SEA  STORY  409 

couple  of  hammocks  in  the  half -deck;  and,  in  fact,  I  saw 
little  more  of  Violet  Hyde  jtill  they  went  ashore  opposite 
Fort  William. 

"In  half  an  hour  we  were  lying  at  anchor  in  the  midst 
of  the  crowd  of  Indiamen,  country  ships,  Arab  craft  and 
all  sorts  of  craft  besides,  stretching  far  up  to  the  next 
reach;  the  long  front  of  flat-topped  buildings,  with  their 
green  Venetians  and  balustrades,  shining  white  over  the 
row  of  trees  on  the  right  bank,  like  a  string  of  palaces 
spreading  back  through  the  huge  mass  of  the  city  to  the  pale  ' 
hot  eastern  sky — a  tall  cocoanut  tree  or  a  sharp  spire  break- 
ing it  here  and  there;  while  the  pile  of  Government  House 
was  to  be  seen  dotted  with  adjutant-birds;  and  the  opposite 
shore  ehowed  far  off  in  a  line  of  green  jungle,  faced  by  a  few 
gay-looking  spots  of  bungalows.  All  the  rest  of  the  day  Jones 
busied  himself  seeing  all  made  regular  and  ship-shape  be- 
low and  aloft,  till  I  began  to  think  he  had  taken  a  fancy 
to  the  schooner,  and  meant  to  go  with  her  and  the  frigate 
to  the  China  seas.  Next  morning,  however,  as  soon  as 
breakfast  was  over  in  the  cabin,  he  came  to  me  and  said 
that,  as  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  done  at  present  aboard, 
according  to  our  agreement  he  would  bid  us  good-by.  Noth- 
ing I  could  say  was  of  the  least  use,  so  at  last  I  had  to 
give  it  up.  Having  little  money  about  me,  however,  ex- 
cept in  bills,  and  intending  to  go  ashore  myself,  I  told  him 
I  should  pay  him  his  mate's  wages  at  once  at  a  banker's  in 
the  town.  By  the  time  I  came  on  deck,  Jones  had  hailed 
a  dinghy,  and  the  native  boatman  paddled  us  to  the  ghaut 
below  the  Sailors'  Home  together. 

"I  had  shaken  hands  with  him,  and  stood  watching  him 
from  the  bank  veranda,  as  his  manly  figure,  in  the  blue 
jacket,  white  duck  trousers,  and  straw  hat,  passed  away 
down  Flag  Street,  stepping  like  a  seaman  fresh  from 
blue  water  through  a  stream  of  Hindoos  in  white  muslin, 
Mussulman  servants,  tall-capped  Armenians,  Danes,  French- 
men, Chinamen,  Arabs,  and  Parsees.  Three  or  four  Coolies 
with  painted  umbrellas  were  shouting  and  scrambling  in 
his  way,  mentioning  their  names,  salaaming,  and  s'ahbing 
him  to  the  nines;  a  couple  of  naked  black  boys  were  trying 
to  brush  his  shoes  in  the  dust;  a  tray  of  native  sweet- 
meats seemed  to  be  shoved  every  now  and  then  under  his 
nose;  and  two  or  three  children  with  heads  as  big  as 
pumpkins  were  stuck  before  him,  their  mothers  begging 
for  'Buckshish!  buckshish!'  Jones  held  on  like  a  man 
accustomed  to  every  sort  of  foreign  scenes  in  the  world; 


410  THE  GREEN  HAND 

and,  out  of  curiosity  to  see  where  he  would  go,  I  followed 
him  for  a  little  toward  the  thjck  of  the  noise  and  crowd, 
through  Tank  Square,  where  the  water-carriers  were  sprink- 
ling the  ground  from  the  sheep-skins  on  their  backs  as  they 
walked,  serpent-charmers  and  jugglers  exhibiting,  and  a 
dirty  fakir  rolling  at  the  corner  in  seeming  agony,  with 
a  crowd  of  liberty-men  in  Sunday  toggery  all  round  him. 

"Jones  looked  up  at  the  church  steeping  in  the  white  heat, 
and  across  the  glare  of  light  to  the  city  beyond,  standing 
like  a  man  that  did  n't  know  what  to  do,  or  had  n't  seen 
Calcutta  before;  then  passed  carelessly  by  the  half -slued 
sailors,  who  hailed  him  as  if  he  were  a  ship.  At  length 
he  got  to  the  turn  of  a  street  running  into  the  native  town, 
where  you  caught  a  glimpse  of  it  swarming  this  way  and 
that  with  turbans  in  the  close  overhanging  bazaars.  Some 
Hindoo  procession  or  other  was  coming  along  with  tom-toms, 
gongs,  tambourines,  and  punkahs,  sweeping  on  through  a 
babel  of  heathenish  cries  and  songs;  a  knot  of  dancing- 
girls,  with  red  flowers  in  their  sleek  black  hair,  could  be  seen 
in  a  hackery  drawn  by  two  hump-backed  bullocks;  and 
a  white  Brahmin  bull  was  poking  its  head  amongst  the 
heaps  of  fruit  at  a  stall;  whilst  you  heard  a  whole  ship's 
crew  hurrahing  and  laughing  amongst  the  confusion,  as 
they  drove  along.  Suddenly  I  saw  Jones  hail  a  palanquin 
near  him,  and  get  in.  The  four  mud-colored  bearers  took 
the  pole  of  it  on  their  shoulders,  fore  and  aft — greasy- 
looking  fellows,  with  ochre-marks  on  their  noses  and  fore- 
heads, a  tuft  of  hair  tied  back  on  their  heads  like  women, 
and  as  naked  as  they  were  born,  save  the  cloth  round 
their  middle — and  next  moment  away  they  trotted,  grunting 
and  swinging  the  palanquin,  till  I  lost  sight  of  them  in  the 
hubbub.  'T  was  the  last  I  saw  of  Jones." 

Here  the  captain  stopped;  the  "Gloucester's"  crew  were  get- 
ting the  anchors  off  her  forecastle  to  her  bows  for  next  day, 
when  the  light-ship  off  the  Sandheads  was  expected  to  be 
seen;  and,  from  his  manner  and  his  silence  together,  he 
evidently  considered  the  yarn  at  an  end.  "That 's  all,  then  ?" 
carelessly  asked  the  surgeon,  who  was  a  chess-player,  and 
had  heard  only  this  part  of  the  captain's  adventures,  and 
the  first  two,  so  that  he  appeared  to  perceive  a  slight  want 
of  connection.  "All  ?"  was  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  lady 
passengers,  most  of  whom  had  been  faithful  listeners — 
the  younger  ones  were  obviously  disappointed  at  something. 

"Why,   yes,"   said   Captain    Collins,   with   a   look   which 


A  SEA  STORY  4n 

might  be  interpreted  either  as  modest  or  "close" — "the  fact 
is,  I  fancied  the  affair  might  serve  to  while  away  a  single 
evening  or  so,  and  here  have  I  been  yarning  different  nights 
all  this  time !  'T  is  owing  to  my  want  of  practice,  no  doubt, 
ma'am."  "Come,  come,"  said  the  matron  of  the  party,  "you 
must  really  give  us  some  idea  of  a  denouement.  These  girls 
of  mine  won't  be  satisfied  without  it,  Captain  Collins;  they 
will  think  it  no  story  at  all,  otherwise!" 

/'An  end  to  it,  you  mean?"  answered  he.  "Why,  ma'am, 
if  there  were  an  end  to  it,  it  couldn't  be  a  'short'  yarn  at 
all — that  would  be  to  finish  and  'whip'  it,  as  we  say,  before 
it 's  long  enough  for  the  purpose :  whereas,  luckily,  my  life 
has  n't  got  to  a  close  yet." 

"Oh!"  said  the  lady,  "no  sea  casuistry  for  us;  besides,  / 
am  aware  of  the  sequel,  you  know!"  "Why,  ma'am,"  an- 
swered the  captain,  looking  up  innocently,  "it  wasn't  for 
two  years  and  a  half  afterwards  that  I — I  settled,  you  know ! 
Do  you  mean  me  to  tell  you  all  that  happened  in  that  time, 
about  the  Frenchman,  and  what  befell  the  schooner  in  the 
China  seas?  'twould  last  the  voyage  home;  but  if  you'll 
go  back  with  me,  I  've  no  particular  objection,  now  I  've  got 
into  the  way." 

"No,  no,  my  dear  captain,"  said  the  lady,  "we  have  had 
enough  for  the  present  of  your  nautical  details — I  beg  par- 
don— but  tell  us  how  you  succeeded  in " 

"Well,"  interrupted  the  narrator,  rather  hastily,  "  't  was 
somewhat  thus:  I  was  at  home  at  Croydon,  being  by  that 
time  first  lieutenant  of  the  'Hebe' ;  but  she  was  just  paid  off. 
One  morning,  at  breakfast,  the  letter-bag  from  the  village 
was  brought  in  as  usual,  my  mother  taking  them  out,  read- 
ing off  all  the  addresses  through  her  spectacles,  while  Jane 
made  the  coffee.  My  mother  handed  Jane  a  ship-letter, 
which  she  put  somewhere  in  her  dress.,  with  a  blush,  so 
that  I  knew  in  a  moment  it  must  be  from  Tom  Westwood, 
who  was  in  the  Company's  civil  service  in  India,  up-coun- 
try. 'None  for  me,  mother?'  asked  I,  eagerly;  for  the  fact 
was,  I  had  got  one  or  two  at  different  times,  at  Canton  and 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  during  the  two  years.  'Yes,  Ned,' 
said  my  mother,  eying  it  again  and  again,  anxiously  enough, 
as  I  thought;  'there  is — but  I  fear  it  is  some  horrid  thing 
from  those  Admirals' — the  Admiralty,  she  meant — 'and  they 
will  be  sending  you  off  immediately — or  a  war,  or  some- 
thing. Oh,  dear  me,  Ned,'  exclaimed  the  good  woman,  quite 
distressed,  'won't  you  do  as  I  wish  you,  and  stay  altogether?' 
By  the  Lord  Harry!  when  I  opened  it,  'twas  a  letter  from 


412  THE  GREEN  HAND 

Lord  Frederick  Bury,  who  had  succeeded  to  his  eldest 
brother's  title  while  we  were  out,  saying  he  had  the  promise 
of  a  commandership  for  me,  as  soon  as  a  new  brig  for  the 
West-India  station  was  ready.  'I  shan't  have  to  go  for  six 
or  seven  months  at  any  rate,  mother,'  said  I,  'by  which  time 
I  shall  be  confounded  tired  of  the  land,  I  know!'  She 
wanted  me  to  buy  a  small  estate  near  Croydon,  shoot, 
fish,  and  dig,  I  suppose;  while  Jane  said  I  ought  to  marry, 
especially  as  she  had  a  girl  with  money  in  her  eye  for  me. 
Still  they  saw  it  was  no  use,  and  began  to  give  it  up. 

"Why  I  never  heard  at  all  from  a  certain  quarter,  I 
could  n't  think.  Till  that  time,  in  fact,  I  had  been  as  sure 
of  her  proving  true  as  I  was  of  breezes  blowing;  but  now  I 
could  n't  help  fancying  all  sorts  of  tyranny  on  the  Judge's 
part  and  her  mother's,  not  to  speak  of  Tom's  uncle,  the 
Councillor.  I  went  down  the  lane  for  the  twentieth  time, 
past  the  end  of  the  house  they  had  lived  in,  where  the 
windows  had  been  shuttered  up  and  the  gates  close  ever 
since  I  came.  All  of  a  sudden,  this  time,  I  saw  there 
were  workmen  about  the  place,  the  windows  open,  and  two 
servants  washing  down  the  yellow  wheels  of  a  travelling- 
carriage.  I  made  straight  back  for  our  house,  went  up  to 
Jane,  who  was  at  her  piano  in  the  drawing-room,  and  asked, 
quite  out  of  breath,  who  was  come  to  the  house  over  the 
park  behind  us.  'Did  you  not  know  that  old  Nabob  was 
coming  back  from  India?'  said  Jane.  'His  face  was  getting 
too  yellow,  I  suppose;  and,  besides,  his  wife  is  dead — from 
his  crossness,  no  doubt.  But  the  young  lady  is  an  heiress, 
Ned,  and  as  I  meant  to  tell  you,  from  good  authority' — 
here  the  sly  creature  looked  away  into  her  music — 'passion- 
ately fond  of  the  sea,  which  means,  you  know,  of  naval  offi- 
cers.' 'The  devil  she  is,  Jane!'  I  broke  out;  'what  did 
Westwood  mean  by  that? — but  when  are  they  coming,  for 
Heaven's  sake?'  'Why,'  said  Jane,  'I  believe,  from  what 
I  heard  our  gardener  say,  they  arrived  last  night.'  'Then, 
by  Jove,  my  dear  girl!'  said  1,  'I'll  tell  you  a  secret — and 
mind,  I  count  on  you!' 

"My  little  sister  was  all  alive  in  a  moment,  ran  to  the 
door  and  shut  it,  then  settled  herself  on  the  sofa  to  hear 
what  I  had  to  say,  as  eagerly  as  you  please.  So  I  told 
her  what  the  whole  matter  was,  with  the  state  of  things 
when  we  left  Calcutta.  Jane  seemed  to  reckon  the  affair 
as  clear  as  a  die ;  and  you  've  no  notion  what  a  lot  of  new 
ropes  she  put  me  up  to  in  a  concern  of  the  kind,  as  well  as 


A  SEA  STORY  413 

ways  to  carry  it  out  ship-shape  to  the  end,  in  spite  of  the 
Judge — or  else  to  smooth  him  over. 

"The  long  and  short  of  it  was,  I  did  n't  leave  till  about 
seven  months  after,  when  the  'Ferret'  was  put  in  commis- 
sion; but  by  that  time  it  was  all  smooth  sailing  before  me. 
The  Judge  had  got  wonderfully  softened;  and  you  may  be 
sure,  I  continued  to  see  Violet  Hyde  pretty  often  before  I 
went  to  sea.  You  'd  scarce  believe  it,  but,  after  that  twelve 
months'  cruise,  I  actually  did  n't  leave  the  land  for  two 
years,  which  I  did  owing  to  the  chance  I  had  of  seeing  sharp 
service  in  the  Burmese  war,  up  the  rivers,  while  General 
Campbell  had  tough  work  with  them  inland.  So  that 's  all  I 
can  say,  ma'am!" 

"Very  good,  sir!"  was  the  surgeon's  cool  remark.  "And, 
in  fact,  sir,  I  fancy  if  every  one  of  us  were  to  commence 
telling  his  whole  life  over,  with  everything  that  happened 
to  him  and  his  friends,  he  must  stop  short  somewhere — 
however  long  it  might  be!"  The  captain  smiled;  they  sat 
on  the  poop  talking  for  awhile,  sometimes  saying  nothing, 
but  watching  the  last  night  at  sea. 

The  pilot-brig  is  spoken  to  windward  next  morning,  even 
while  the  deep-sea  lead-line  is  being  hove  to  sound  the  bot- 
tom. Falling  sudden  from  the  foreyard,  the  weight  takes  the 
long  line  from  hand  after  hand  back  to  the'  gangway,  till  it 
trembles  against  the  ground.  'T  is  drawn  up  slowly,  the  wet 
coil  secured,  and  the  bottom  of  the  lead  showing  its  little 
hollow  filled  with  signs  of  earth — "Gray  sand  and  shells!" 
They  stand  on  till  the  pilot  is  on  board,  the  low  land  lifts 
and  lengthens  before  the  ship;  but  the  flow  of  the  tide 
has  yet  to  come,  and  take  them  safely  up  amongst  the  wind- 
ing shoals  into  the  Indian  river's  mouth.  A  new  land,  and 
the  thoughts  of  strange  new  life,  the  gorgeous  sights  and 
fantastic  realities  of  the  mighty  country  of  the  Mogul  and 
Rajahs,  crowd  before  them  after  the  wide  solitary  sea.  The 
story  is  already  all  but  forgotten. — AND  THE  ANCHOB  is 


LET  GO! 


THE  END. 


000137845 


